


Trust and Loyalty: Cracks

by Slaskia



Series: Dangerous Secrets [5]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Companions, Depression, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail, Secrets, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14988191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaskia/pseuds/Slaskia
Summary: As new players enter the field, or get more directly involved, some secrets get revealed, while the deception protecting others start to form cracks.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because I want to! This will normally update on Saturdays, so the second chap will be then!
> 
> Also, if you are new to this series, it is 'highly' recommended that you read the other entries in the 'Dangerous Secrets' series first.

Wilderness

If she had been told she would be working alongside Starscream a few orns ago, Arcee would have laughed in that bot’s face. 

Yet here she was, traveling beside the notorious silver seeker.  Granted, unusual circumstances brought them together, but together they were.  Starscream, grounded due to having his T-Cog stolen and Arcee, grounded _and_ stuck in dragonform due to a wing injury. 

They had an arrangement:  she could find him raw energon, while he gave her protection. Though _currently_ it seemed she was doing both the food hunting _and_ protecting, considering recent events.  Shooting down Lazerbeak, whom she knew would have brought trouble if it had spotted him and evading another Cybertronian who was apparently someone from Starscream’s past, Jetfire.  Starscream wasn’t doing much on the ‘protection’ part of the deal.  Instead, he seemed to be fulfilling more of a ‘caretaker’ role. 

Despite his reputation, Starscream proved to be very gentle when he wanted to be.  He had every opportunity to harm her, but he had not.  Not even while he was handling her injured wing, both in cleaning and applying medicine to it.  He didn’t have to help her with it, yet he did.  It’s like her presence in this form was triggering another side to this seeker, one no one got to see anymore, if his little stories about past were any indication. 

Yet a part of her worried this was all still an act: something he _was_ known for as well.  One to play on her sympathies until he no longer had a use for her.  That ever-present threat that he would figure her out was there as well.  She nearly screwed up at the lake when she wrote ‘aft’ to him then, but thankfully he didn’t seem to notice before she erased it.  Arcee knew it was only a matter of time before something did blow her cover…and that’s when Starscream will no doubt show his true colors.  For now, she intended to enjoy this ‘softer’ and ‘gentler’ Starscream, for however long it lasted. 

Currently she was just finishing up a deer, while Starscream was sipping from the drone tank he had pilfered.  The thought of him getting energon like that still made her stomach churn a bit, but she supposed she couldn’t blame him.  With his current situation, he had no other way to get refined energon.  She didn’t relish the thought of repeating such a ‘raid’, however. 

Suddenly her seeker companion suddenly made a yelp of shock and jumped up to his feet.  Arcee watched in befuddlement as the Seeker seem to start…dancing?  No, not dancing, she realized as she watched him start frantically trying to brush something off.  Curious, she crept closer, trying to see what was affecting him. 

Then she spotted a swarming mass of tiny insects at his feet.  Fire ants.  And they were crawling up and _into_ his frame. 

“Get them off!  Get them off!” Starscream was crying now.  “Scrap!  How can such tiny creatures cause so much discomfort!?” 

Arcee couldn’t help it, she started laughing as it was too funny.  She never considered a common insect such as an ant would be able to throw a proud Con like him into a fit like this.  Arcee stopped laughing when Starscream started shrieking in panic.  “They are on my wings!  They are on.  My.  WINGS!” 

Oh dear, she had forgotten how sensitive those wings were.   _Guess I better save him._  But how?  A simple bolt of lightning would probably do it, but she risked hurting _him_ in the process.  Then she recalled the low charge she used to get his aft moving the other day.  If she could do that on a continuous level…. 

It was worth a shot.  She focused on her element, stepped a bit closer to the seeker, then let it rip. 

\-- 

Starscream screamed as the electricity hit him, more out of surprise than actual pain, at least initially.  He certainly did not enjoy all his servos locking up as his body convulsed.  There were a thousands of tiny popping sounds all over him as the ants were fried.  When the lightning stopped, he was itch free…and a little singed. 

He fell onto his back, panting from exhaustion.  “You…” he weakly pointed a finger in the dragon’s general direction.  “Are a cruel dragon….” 

It was then he heard something, not through his audio receptors, but in his head.  Faint, but there. 

~Well don’t sit on a fire ant nest next time.~ 

“Eh?” He lifted his head up to look at the creature, not sure if his mind was playing tricks on him.  “Did you…just say something about fire ants?” 

The dragon’s eyes widened, ears went back and whole body stiffened in shock for a nano.  Then it relaxed slightly, though still looked a bit tense.  ~I…did?~ He heard that voice again, clearer, stronger, definitely female.  There was also a slight ‘tingle’ feeling with the voice, but considering he was just electrocuted, that _could_ be coincidental. 

Starscream sat up now, staring at it…her…with his mouth agape.  “I thought you said dragons could only communicate like that with other dragons?” he asked. 

~I did,~ she replied.  ~Though I was told it was possible with other species…just extremely rare.  Had to do with soul resonance being similar and such.~ 

He scratched at his chest, where his spark lay.   _Soul resonance eh?  Some kind of compatibility thing?_  “So why can I only hear you now?” 

At this she shrugged.  ~Your guess is as good as mine.~ 

“Well…this will certainly help with our communication barrier.”  For that, Starscream felt grateful. 

~Yes, it will.~  She seemed hesitant about something.  Now that he thought about it, her ‘voice’ sounded familiar as well.  The latter was probably a coincidence.  Right?   ~Probably should keep teaching me that ‘wing language’ thing though,~ she suggested.  ~In case we get in a situation where we... _you_...need to be quiet.~ 

He found the suggestion sound.  If what happened with Lazerbeak was any indication, they will still need a means to communicate silently.  “I agree,” he stated.  “Let’s get moving before anymore…fire ants…decide to pester me.” 

The dragon laughed. 

\-- 

Autobot Base

While they waited for the new bot to wake up, Ratchet gave each member of the team a thorough examination, starting with Bumblebee.  If only to confirm there wasn’t some very elaborate trick being played on them all.  The scout’s voice box was indeed fully intact once more: in fact, it was like the day he came from the Allspark!  His frame was like new! 

Bulkhead and Optimus, while they didn’t have any crippling injury like Bumblebee had, their frames were also like new.  That old shoulder injury Bulkhead always complained about and slight strut misalignment he could never fix on Optimus were gone, along with any and all evidence of past injuries. 

In contrast, Jetfire was still the same:  he hadn’t been in range of those ‘pulses’ the other’s reported.  The seeker lamented that he had a few ‘old complaints’ he would have liked fixed.  Ratchet found himself agreeing, despite how unbelievable this whole thing was: it was like a dream.  Yet, here was tangible evidence that it happened, even if he couldn’t understand the method. 

However, as the reality of this miracle set into his processor, another, much grimmer one rose.  “Optimus,” he spoke up.  “Whatever caused this, magic or otherwise, we can bet Megatron will try to take control of it.” 

“I agree,” Optimus conceded.  “However, I believe the best counter to that possibility is right here.”  The Prime gestured to the recharging new bot on the berth. 

Ratchet somewhat see why Optimus thought so.  This new bot did look rather dragony and the possibility of it being Kaddrocrom was high.  Especially considering its appearance at the same time as Kaddrocrom’s _disappearance_ from the Prime’s processor.  A high chance, but…. 

“If he is really Kaddrocrom, you mean.”  Ratchet cautioned, not wanting the Prime to get his hopes too high.  “There’s a chance he may not remember his old life if it is him.”  Optimus made a thoughtful ‘hmm’ noise. 

There was a faint moan at that moment.  All optics turned toward the newcomer, whom was starting to stir. 

\-- 

Optimus wished Ratchet had more faith, but at the same time his old friend was right as well.  There was a chance this wasn’t Kaddrocrom at all, despite all visual evidence to the contrary, or that he won’t remember.  Still, Optimus prayed to Primus that this was Kaddrocrom with all his memories intact, as he had feeling they will all need his guidance. 

The bot finally opened its optics, revealing them to be gold in hue.  Ratchet leaned in close at that point, too close.  The bot was startled by his sudden appearance and swatted him across the face with it’s claws.  Ratchet yelped in a mix of shock and pain, staggering back, one hand covering his face. 

The newcomer was staring at the hand it smacked Ratchet with, confusion on it’s face.  Then it bolted upright and looked itself over completely.  It started screaming its displeasure in a rather familiar voice. 

“Of all the sn-ky, un-han-d, lowd-n, d-ious, -ifty th-gs!” Kaddrocrom was exclaiming, though with a lot of static.  “All!  Why di-’t -ou _-arn_ me -is was y-r pl-n -ou m-hiev-s, sly, tr-ach-ous, s-eming, crafty, con-ving en-ty!” 

“Whoa…impressive,” Bulkhead was saying.  “All those words and not one curse.” 

“Don’t know…,” Bumblebee countered with a smirk.  “With all that static he was spitting, he may have censored himself.” 

“I don’t curse…,” Kaddrocrom grumbled, now looking a bit self-conscious with all these optics staring at him. 

“It is good to see you are still with us, my friend,” Optimus was saying with a smile, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Yes…lovely,” Ratchet muttered, whom was tending to a few light fresh scratches on his face. 

“My apologies for harming you, medic,” Kaddrocrom said regretfully.  “You startled me.” 

“No no…my mistake.”  Ratchet waved hand.  “Teach me to stick my face into the face of a dragon that is waking up….” 

“I…can’t really be called a dragon anymore,” Kaddrocrom sighed, looking at his hands once more. 

“At least in the physical sense,” Optimus assured him. “Your mind at least, is still very dragon.” 

“But despite having been in your head, observing… _feeling_ …how your... _my_ …kind does things, I have a feeling I will have a lot to learn.”  With a sad chuckle, he added.  “Arcee would have jumped at the opportunity to get me back for my ‘teaching’ methods.” 

“Weh-ell now….”  Ratchet was leaning toward him, hands on his hips.  “We’ll just have to do that _for_ her, now won’t we?” 

From the way Kaddrocrom flinched, the dragon didn’t like the way Ratchet was looking at him.  “In well enough time,” Optimus interjected.  “We have a more pressing matter to attend to.” 

“You are worried about our foes using the _elnserzi_ for their own ends,” Kaddrocrom stated, to which Optimus nodded.  “If they plan to try to replicate what the humans did, it will only last a short time.  Most astral wells are not infinite, as the nature of the veil between planes is always shifting.  Even the more stable ones will have varying potency over time and can even be shut if taxed too much too quickly.” 

“But even a short-lived one can have devastating effects if they figure it out,” Jetfire commented. 

“That is correct,” Kaddrocrom agreed grimly.  “We are fortunate that the one the humans were tampering with was healing based…not destruction based.  Granted…destruction ones are extremely rare and very short lived for a _reason_.” 

“Wait…so each one is different?” Ratchet asked. 

Kaddrocrom nodded.  “With countless possibilities on their purpose,” he said.  “Though only the more stable ones are actually given names.” 

“Such as the one we were just at.  Rejuvenation.”  Optimus said. 

“Correct.” 

“Do you know were all these wells are?” 

At this Kaddrocrom sighed.  “Only where the strongest and most significant ones are, as there are too many possible locations.” 

“How many?” Jetfire asked curiously. 

“Best you do a…search on that thing the humans call the ‘internet’,” Kaddrocrom grumbled.  “Look for ‘Ley Lines’.” 

Jetfire used one of the consoles to do just that.  “Holy Primus…,” the seeker cried after he brought up an image.  “Please tell me where each line intersects is _not_ where a Well can be….” 

“I’m afraid I must disappoint you there,” Kaddrocrom grumbled.  “The more lines intersect at a point, the more powerful the Well can be.” 

“The Decepticons will not know about Ley lines or what an elnserzi is like we do, so that is to our advantage,” Optimus pointed out.  “Chances are, Megatron will attempt to use the same one as before.” 

“Depending on what happened after I was unceremoniously kicked out of your head, Optimus,” Kaddrocrom commented.  “It may be closed.” 

“Well the generator that was pulling from it kind of blew up,” Bulkhead told him. 

“Then it is likely closed,” Kaddrocrom concluded.  “Only way to know for certain is to go back there.  Then again…I’m not sure how ‘sensitive’ I am to such things with this body.  Or if I am even able to use magic for that matter.” 

“It is probably best we discuss the events of today with Fowler first,” Optimus decided.  “He may be able to get us information on what exactly they were researching there and what happened after we left.  In the meantime, it is probably best you get used to your new body, Kaddrocrom.” 

Kaddrocrom was looking at Ratchet, whom was looking at him with that grin on his face again.  “Arfeu’s luck…,” the former dragon muttered. 

\-- 

R’aagun

_High Earth Orbit_  

 _The sun was high, the sky clear and wind calm.  He flew through the landscape of Cybertron, as fast as his engines could take him.  Feeling the air on his wings as they cut through it.  He climbed, higher and higher, until he stalled and started to fall.  For several nanos he freefalled, until his engines kicked in again._

_He twisted and rolled in his descent, diving right into the sonic canyons.  There he purposely went down the smaller passages, testing his flying skills to the limit.  He twisted, rolled, evaded the outcroppings, bridges and various flying transports with practiced ease.  Then he reached the air geyser, the Breath of Primus.  He rode the powerful updraft past the rims of the canyon, continued riding it higher and higher until it could no longer propel him up._

_Cutting his engines, he transformed, letting himself all once more.  He fell a bit, until the air from the geyser was strong enough to hold him aloft.  Laughing, he stretched himself out, enjoying the feeling of being suspended like this.  This was what being a seeker was all about.  This total freedom.  To go anywhere he-_  

//Skywarp.\\\  a voice broke into the simulation.  //I’m sorry to interrupt your simulation time, but I need you on the bridge.\\\ 

Skywarp sighed and disconnected himself from the simulator.  Back to the reality of his life these days.  That he was a mute, half blind, flightless seeker.  A life no seeker in their right processor would want to live indefinitely.  Well, some would say he wasn’t exactly _right_ in the processor to begin with, but frag those guys. 

He shooed away the medical drone that was chirping at him as he rose to his feet.  Sometimes he got himself too worked up in the simulator and overstressed his fuel pump, but this was not one of those times.  The annoying thing followed him anyway as he headed for the bridge.  Skywarp was tempted to shove it out an airlock, but he didn’t relish the thought of being told to get it back.  Last time, the planet’s gravity nearly pulled him out of teleport range of the ship.  That would not have been a good ending for him. 

Once he arrived at the bridge, he tapped one of the ‘extensions’ on his wing stumps against the wall to announce his arrival.  It stung a bit to do so, but he didn’t mind as getting ‘any’ input from what was left of his wings was welcome in his opinion.  Someday, he hoped his friend would gain the knowledge he needed to completely restore him, his wings especially. 

The figure in front of him was hard to see, due to most of the lights being kept down low or even off to conserve power:  only the lights on the consoles themselves gave any hint of the shape of the only other living being on this ship.  Tentacled arms that were dancing across the bridge controls paused as the figure turned to regard him.  There was a tilting of the body in acknowledgment. 

“I had to activate visual cloaking, as there’s a couple of small ships approaching the planet,” the figure said, beckoning him over.  “One we’ve seen before…The Jackhammer.  The other one however….” 

Skywarp studied the data on the sensors a moment before tapping on the console so he knew to watch his wings.  ]The Skyclaw[ he signed.  ]Belongs to Dreadwing.[ 

“Should we be concerned about Dreadwing?”  He was asked. 

]Probably,[ Skywarp replied.  ]He’s so loyal to Megatron he should share a berth with him.[ 

His choice of words caused a twitch in those green and grey tentacles.  Even after all this time, the Quintesson was still not comfortable with even a _mention_ of intimacy.  Skywarp allowed himself a silent chuckle at his discomfort. 

“So these two are definitely not friendly with each other,” he commented, watching the two ships continue to come closer.  Shortly after they reached visual range, the Jackhammer started firing upon the Skyclaw.  The Skyclaw was hit and started on a crash landing trajectory toward the planet itself.  “Maybe we won’t have to worry about Dreadwing afterall.” 

Skywarp huffed audibly, one of the very few sounds he could still make.  ]Dreadwing is one of the more ‘robust’ types for a seeker.[ he warned.  ]He’s tougher to take down than seeker types like mine.[ 

The Quintesson’s tentacle’s stiffened briefly and his face took on an expression of concern.  Skywarp could guess what he was thinking.  That Megatron will have Dreadwing hunt down Starscream and force him to return.  A concern Skywarp shared, as he witnessed firsthand how much his Commander, his honorary brother, changed, was twisted, under that bastard’s command.  Skywarp wanted nothing more than for Starscream to be completely free of him, so he could find himself again, his _real_ self. 

]Perhaps I should try find the Commander and warn him?[ Skywarp offered. 

His friend breathed out a long sigh.  “We do not know his mental state, Skywarp,” he replied.  “Remember he thinks you are dead, like your twin.”   

Skywarp flinched at that, feeling that hole in his spark more clearly for a nano.   

“And if he becomes aggressive, you are in no condition to defend yourself.  I worry enough when I have to send you out to steal supplies.” 

Skywarp soundlessly grumbled, scratching at the spot on his torso where his fuel pump resided.  It had been faulty ever since he was a Sharkicon chew toy and the Quintesson had yet to be able to fix it successfully, despite numerous attempts.   

]Maybe I should go steal medical data from the damn _Nemesis_ then so you can fix me![  If he was capable of teleporting bots along with himself, he’d kidnap Knockout in a sparkbeat if came to it.  Though Ratchet would probably be a more _cooperative_ choice…. 

“Absolutely not!” the Quintesson exclaimed, alarmed.  “Your pump wouldn’t be able to handle the stress of a stealth op like that!” 

Skywarp huffed and slumped his shoulders.  He was right.  ]I feel I need to do _something_ to help reach our goal, Yarzon….[ he lamented.  ]All this flying around just… _observing…._ [ 

“I know it is frustrating, Skywarp,” Yarzon admitted. “I feel it too.  But remember the _R’aagun_ is only a scout ship:  it wouldn’t be able to survive an attack by the _Nemesis_ should it detect us.  We need to have patience…and wait for the right opportunities.” 

While Skywarp understood and agreed, patience was _never_ his strong suit….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skywarp’s simulator scene was inspired by the song ‘Festival of Light’ by Audiomachine


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaddrocrom starts learning about his new body.

Autobot Base

Kaddrocrom had to hand it to Ratchet:  he was certainly doing this best to torment him. 

The first few minutes of the medic’s tutelage was simply getting him used to moving around in his new body.  Expected and understandable.  Now, however, Ratchet was currently giving him a biology lesson, going over each and every part of a Cybertronian body, detailing its function.  It was interesting for the first hour or so, though now it was just annoying.  He had looked to the other’s for help, as surely they knew this was a bit ridiculous, but Jetfire and Optimus had busied themselves with their own duties.  Bumblebee and Bulkhead had left to get the human kids. 

“Do you give this lecture to _all_ new members of your kind?” he asked at one point. 

Ratchet clearly didn’t like being interrupted, if the scowl on his face was anything to go by.  “Usually newsparks already have an innate knowledge of their own body,” he replied.  “You, however, are a _unique_ case.” 

“Point, however you are being a bit detailed for a first lesson,” Kaddrocrom pointed out.  “Overly so.  Don’t you think the basics would suffice?” 

“For you?  No….,”  Ratchet growled before continuing his ‘lesson’. 

Kaddrocrom sighed and let him drone on a bit before an idea came to him and a sly smirk formed on his face.  “Oh I get it!” 

“What?”  Ratchet snarled. 

“You chose me to be your apprentice!”  Kaddrocrom proclaimed.  “You want me to learn your healing abilities so you can retire.  What an honor!”  He stood from his seat and bowed.  “You should have said something…so I’d have the proper materials to take notes with!” 

Ratchet’s optics were wide and he was sputtering.  “N-no!  That’s _not_ my intent!” the medic exclaimed once he found his voice.  Close by, Jetfire was snickering. 

“Then what’s the point?” Kaddrocrom asked, putting on a mock disappointed expression.  “I did not teach Arcee things that would have been _useless_ to her.” 

More sputtering before Ratchet growled.  “Fine!  You’re right, it’s unnecessary.”  He crossed his arms and looked away, sulking. 

“So are we done?” 

“Oh no…there’s one more thing that you _surely_ need to know,” Ratchet snarled.  He then summoned out of his subspace a cube of energon.  “I don’t know what you ate in your old form, but this is what you will have to eat now.” 

Kaddrocrom snorted, rolling his optics.  “I already figured _that_ out by being in Optimus’ head,” he muttered.  Then he grinned again.  “It is such a pity, however, to go from being able to gain sustenance from anything to just being limited to one item.” 

“Wait…what?” Ratchet blinked at him.  Close by, Jetfire had paused in his work to look at him in interest. 

“Dragons had very special stomachs,” Kaddrocrom explained, more for Jetfire than Ratchet.  “Capable of breaking down any thing we eat.  Rocks, flesh, metal…anything.”  Then he stepped up to Ratchet and draped an arm over his shoulders.  “We could even eat beings like you, if we wished” he told him, letting a slight sinister tone enter his voice as he leaned in close.  “And I have in the past.  I wouldn’t have eaten you though:  you’re obviously too bitter and sour for my palate.”  He straightened up, patted a shocked Ratchet on the shoulder before stepping away. 

“Ouch…whatta burn…,” Jetfire commented, wincing.  “Did you seriously eat Cybertronians though?” 

“Unfortunately,” Kaddrocrom replied.  “It was a very long time ago, when your kind had come here the first time.  As a general rule we avoid eating sentient beings, unless there is no other option at that time.  The couple of times I was forced to do so, I made sure I only partook from a Decepticon corpse.  It would have been very rude to eat an ally.” 

“Wait…What!” Ratchet sputtered.  “You fought against the Decepticons with us back then!?” 

“Indeed.” 

“I have a hard time believing that.” 

“You seem to be unwilling to believe a lot of things, medic. And you call yourself a person of learning?” 

“Annnd another burn…,” Jetfire snickered.  “You’re on a roll Kaddy.” 

One of his brows twitched as he stood still in shock for a second, before turning sharply toward Jetfire and snapping.  “Don’t call me _Kaddy_!” 

“Whoa!”  Jetfire jumped back, stunned at his outburst. 

“Well…looks like his T-Cog works…,” Ratchet muttered.  “At least…I ‘think’ that’s due to his T-Cog….” 

“What are you talking about?”  Kaddrocrom asked, turning toward Ratchet.  He nearly lost his balance, as he suddenly discovered his center of balance had shifted.  “What the….” 

“You sprouted wings…,” Jetfire pointed out. 

He blinked, then became aware of something movable on his back.  Two somethings.  By instinct alone, he brought those things forward so he could see them.  “Huh,” he said, both amazed and amused by the wings, which closely mimicked the ones he once had.  “Looks like flight is still in my repertoire. Nice.” 

“Just keep in mind that flying as a bot will no doubt be different than as a dragon,” Ratchet stated. 

“Noted, medic.” 

“Yet somehow I fear he won’t be as ‘covert’ as the rest of us when out and about,” Jetfire mentioned. 

“He may have a proper alt-mode that hasn’t been discovered yet,” Optimus spoke up. 

“And if I can still use magic, I would have other means to stay hidden,” Kaddrocrom added, folding his wings.  After a moment, they ‘transformed’ back into winglets.  “But I am not going to try just yet, I want to get used to this new body first.” 

“A sound decision, my friend.” 

The base sensors alerted them to returning friendlies:  Bulkhead and Bumblebee.  Kaddrocrom decided to both test his new wings and play a ‘joke’ on them.  After moving to a more open space, he ‘summoned’ his wings and, with a bit of effort, flew up onto one of the support beams.   _Definitely a bit more difficult with this body shape._ Perhaps he had a proper ‘alt-mode’ like Optimus suggested?  He’ll have to do some testing when he had more room to work with. 

The two returning Autobot’s came into view, 

“Sorry we’re late,” Bulkhead said as their doors opened and their human passengers stepped out. 

“Yeah, last minute school assembly,” Miko grumbled with annoyance.  “Which took for _ever!_  

“A couple of hours longer...I nearly fell asleep,” Jack sighed, then rubbed his side.  “Though Miko helped keep me awake.  She didn’t have to elbow me so hard though.” 

“If I can’t sleep through those borefests...neither can you,” Miko quipped.  “Anyway, because of the long borefest, we had to stop to eat before coming here.” 

“So what’s the surprise?” Raf asked.  Miko and Jack were looking at them expectantly. 

“There’s two,” Bumblebee replied as he transformed.  “You just heard the first.” 

“Wait…what?”  Raf looked confused. 

“Hold on…,” Miko was saying.  “Did I just understand you, Bee?” 

“Sure did!”  Bumblebee confirmed with a grin after dropping his face mask. 

“Oh my gosh!” Raf exclaimed.  “Your voice box!  It’s restored!” 

“Sure has!” 

“Did Ratchet finally fix it?” Miko asked. 

Ratchet snorted.  “I wish…you can thank ‘magic’ for that….” 

“So what’s the second surprise?”  Jack asked, looking around.  “Is Arcee….”  He looked so hopeful. 

“I’m afraid not, Jack,” Optimus said regretfully.  “However, we have a new member that is very familiar with what Arcee is now capable of.” 

“You may want to clear the floor…,” Ratchet warned. 

Kaddrocrom saw his cue.  He jumped from the support and spread his wings to slow his descent.  Still made a nice thud when he hit the ground, making all three humans jump.   

“This is Kaddrocrom,” Optimus introduced as he straightened up to his full height.  “Given a new form by the same miracle that restored Bumblebee’s voice.” 

“Whoa….,” Raf breathed. 

“Awesome!” Miko jumped a few times.  Jack looked disappointed. 

“Do not despair, Jack,” Kaddrocrom assured him.  “Arcee will be fine…and will return to us when the time is right.” 

“Wa-wait…,” Jack said, stepping back a bit.  “H-how did you know my name?” 

“I’ve actually been here for a while,” Kaddrocrom explained.  “Just not in a form you can see.” 

“OK, explanation!” Miko demanded, pointing at Optimus. 

Optimus chuckled and started to explain. 

\--

Wilderness 

Starscream was thrilled about being able to converse properly with his companion now, so wasted no time starting proper conversation.  The first thing he asked about was her species and that started a sad tale of what happened to the dragons.  It was quite different from what he had gleaned from the human datanet, but as she told the story, he could see why.

_To think such powerful creatures could be brought to near extinction by such a weak species such as humans._  From her story and his own experiences thus far, humans were more dangerous than Megatron gave them credit for.  Perhaps the Autobots were wise to stay in their good graces…. 

“So…why were you abandoned?” he asked, recalling her response to his question about her family on the day they met. 

She was quiet for a klik, her expression one of uncertainty.  ~My sire was killed by one of your kind,~ she finally responded.  ~A black and purple one with many legs.~ 

Airachnid.  Starscream found himself scowling.  How many innocent lives has that wench destroyed?  Too many, he suspected, in part due to her shifting allegiances and her own cruel nature.  “Yet you seem…comfortable with me.” 

~You didn’t immediately attack me.~ 

A fair point. 

~The rest of my family didn’t believe my story,~ she continued.  ~I felt isolated…alone…so I left to be on my own.~ 

“So, your response of ‘abandoned’ before was more you ‘abandoning’ them.”  She nodded.  “Do you think they are looking for you?” 

Again, she was quiet for a klik.  ~I don’t know,~ she finally responded.  ~Dangerous to do so…with humans around.~ 

Starscream noticed something odd with that response.  While she was ‘talking’ to him, he could feel a tingle in his processor, the strength of it increasing and decreasing depending on her emotions.  The last sentence she said…carried no tingle at all.  He felt that was significant, but not sure in what way.  Starscream filed that information away for later. 

“You are probably right…considering the group of humans that were looking for you before,” he commented before looking at the sky.  “It’s getting late…we should find shelter for the night.” 

She nodded in agreement. 

\--

Autobot Base 

The kids took in the new information with great interest.  Especially Miko, who started pelting Kaddrocrom with questions. 

“So, can you still do magic?”  she asked him. 

“I have yet to test that,” Kaddrocrom admitted.  “Other things take priority.” 

“Well…what _can_ you do?” 

“Fly, obviously,” he fluttered his winglets.  “As for anything else, I don’t know yet.  I’m still in a ‘learning’ period.” 

The human girl thought a moment.  “So…if you came from Optimus…does that mean Optimus is your dad?” 

Optimus, whom taking a sip of energon at the time, did a spit take.  Kaddrocrom stiffened, as did many other bots, optics bulging in shock everywhere.  Jetfire, after a moment, started laughing uncontrollably.   

“Why…would you think that?” Kaddrocrom finally asked, confused. 

“Well, you were ‘in’ Optimus all that time,” Miko explained.  “And he kind of gave ‘birth’ to you.”  Poor Optimus staggered, having barely recovered from the last comment.  “Plus…parts of you look like him.” 

“Well…she does have a point,” Ratchet pointed out, a faint smile on his face.  “Your shoulders, hips, forearms and audials do resemble Optimus strongly.” 

“Gee Optimus…not telling us something?” Bumblebee snickered, looking at him. 

“P-per-perhaps we should do a C-C-CNA test!” Jetfire blurted out between laughs, whom was barely able to stand. 

Kaddrocrom and Optimus glanced at each other, both feeling very awkward over this.  “Can we change the subject?”  they both said in unison.  That just caused Jetfire to finally fall over with a crash, laughing even harder now.  Everyone else was snickering or giggling now. 

It took a few kliks before everyone calmed down and the conversation could continue…without the awkwardness.  “I remember the story Arcee told us about dragons,” Miko was asking. “About how you couldn’t hurt us due to…a promise?” 

“A Pact, but yes,” Kaddrocrom replied. 

“You were a dragon before…so…can you hurt humans now?” 

It was a good question.  Was the Pact still binding to him?  “Let’s find out.”  He sat down on the ground.  “Hold out your arm.” 

“What are ya going to do?” Miko asked as she did so. 

_So trusting._  He remembered when he was like that once.  “I’m going to attempt to scratch your arm,” he explained stretching out one hand and extending a finger.  “If I can, it should only be a little scratch that will heal quickly.” 

“OK.” 

The other kids and a few bots, Bulkhead among them, watched with interest.  Kaddrocrom pressed the tip of a claw on her tiny arm, but felt a familiar ‘barrier’ around her.  He pressed harder, only for it to not yield in anyway. 

“Are you even doing anything?” Miko asked, looking confused. “I can feel you touching me but….” 

“It would appear the Pact still binds me,” Kaddrocrom sighed, withdrawing his hand.  “I cannot harm you, or any other human.” 

“That may be problematic if we have another encounter with MECH,” Optimus pointed out. 

“MECH?” 

“A group of humans that are currently obsessed with obtaining our technology,” the Prime explained.  “They captured Arcee and the Decepticon Breakdown in the past.” 

Kaddrocrom flicked his wings with worry.  “I may have to test my ability to use magic sooner rather than later…as I do know spells that do not cause harm.” 

“But first we should see if you are ‘armed’ in the Cybertronian sense,” Optimus suggested.  “Bumblebee, Bulkhead.  Take the children home.” 

“Aww, but I want to see how much he can kick ass,” Miko whined. 

“I’m sure you will have plenty of opportunity later, Miko,” Bulkhead told her as he and Bumblebee transformed and let them board. 

After they left, Jetfire and Optimus guided him to their training room.  Once there, he recalled how it ‘felt’ when Optimus summoned his weapons and he successfully replicated it. 

“It appears I have more than one weapon type,” he stated, examining the results. 

“The left one looks like a blaster type, the other….” Jetfire paused a moment. “Not sure.” 

“Then let’s test them both to find out.”  Kaddrocrom aimed the left weapon at a target.  After a bit, he figured out how to fire.  He nearly had to take a step back due to the recoil as a large ball of energy shot out and hit the target.  It exploded on impact, seriously damaging the target. 

“OK, less blaster more like cannon,” Jetfire commented.  “That outta blow some ‘Cons away.” 

“I’ll definitely need to practice firing so I don’t lose my footing,” Kaddrocrom stated as he aimed the right weapon at the same target.  “Let’s see what the other one is.” 

Instead of a ball of energy, a stream of flame came from the weapon.  It coated the target, sticking to it easily as it burned.  “Looks like I am still a fire breather!”  he laughed. 

“Looks like it’s similar to napalm,” Jetfire commented as he got an extinguisher and put it out before it triggered the base sprinkler system.  “Which should really ‘stick it’ to the Cons.” 

“A weapon like that you will have to use carefully,” Optimus cautioned.  “Especially in human populated areas.” 

“Understood,” Kaddrocrom said, reverting his weapons back to hands.  “I’d rather _improve_ relations with humans…not make it worse.” 

“Speaking of ‘improving relations’,” the voice of Ratchet said behind them. “Fowler is on the line…and he ain’t happy.” 

Optimus made an audible groan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next few chaps will be covering the ep 'Loose Cannons'.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaddrocrom discovers a new ability and Jetfire tells more of Starscream's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got an early start tomorrow, so here's a surprise early chap!

Agent Fowler was indeed not a happy camper.  Kaddocrom watched as Optimus tried to assure him that all Autobot’s were accounted for, including Bulkhead and Bumblebee, whom had just returned.  There was of course Arcee unaccounted for, but they knew she was currently not capable of playing rock’em, sock’em robots close to a populated area. 

Turned out to be an old friend of theirs, Wheeljack, duking it out with a new Con that had just arrived.  Optimus knew they had to step in to try to minimize further collateral damage.  He asked Kaddrocrom to stay at the base with Ratchet. 

“You don’t seem bothered about not going along,” Ratchet commented after the ground bridge closed. 

“I already knew I would not be needed,” Kaddrocrom replied with a shrug. 

“Right…that…precognition thing,” the medic muttered as he started work on one of his projects while they waited.  “Just how does that work anyway?” 

“Depends.”  He picked up one Ratchet’s smaller pieces of equipment to examine it.  “Sometimes it just comes to me like a feeling…a gut instinct, if you will.  Such as when I knew they would not need me for this mission.” 

“Some would question the logic of ‘going by your tank’,” Ratchet commented.  “It’s gotten many into more trouble than they should have.” 

Kaddrocrom shrugged at that.  “Other times,” he continued. “It’s an image…a snapshot of a point in the future.  Those are often very vague, little to no context to make sense of it until that time has nearly come.  They can be symbolic as well.  I had one of…Wheeljack, was it…when I saw him on the vid screen.” 

He saw Ratchet stiffen, then look at him curiously.  “What was it?” 

“He was on a dark field, alone…surrounded by corpses…but he too was a corpse.” 

“Th-that seemed pretty clear to me….,” Ratchet stuttered, clearly disturbed.  “Can the future be changed?” 

“It can, if it is meant to be so.”  Kaddrocrom put down the device and picked up a different one.  “Such ‘images’ I see as warnings of a future that is not favorable.  Often there is a different ‘vision’ that accompanies it that hints on how to prevent it…or, in rare cases, ensure it.” 

“Did you in this case?” 

“I did.  Not an image…not a ‘feeling’ but spoken to me like you and I are speaking now.”  He paused to collect himself a moment before speaking again.  “When the white meets the black, pains old and new will begin to heal and old friends will reunite.” 

“Well that does sound hopeful,” Ratchet commented.  “The ‘White’ I’m assuming is Wheeljack, considering what you stated before.”  Kaddrocrom nodded.  “Who’s the ‘black’ then?” 

“That, I have no context to which to base even a guess on.” 

“Old friends…could that be a reference to Arcee?”  There was that hopeful look in Ratchet’s optics, to which Kaddrocrom rolled his own. 

“Stop chasing what is not meant to be yours, medic,” he grumbled. 

Ratchet looked at him, shocked.  “What are you talking about?” he asked. 

“You know _exactly_ what I am talking about, or rather _who_ ,” Kaddrocrom retorted.  “Arcee.” 

Ratchet recoiled a bit, then his face turned dark.  “Not meant to be mine!?” he snapped when he finally got it.  “You don’t know that!” 

Kaddrocrom made another optic roll.  “Seriously?  We were _just_ talking about how my precognition abilities come to me and you say that?  Really, medic?” 

“And I have a fragging name!” Ratchet growled, ignoring the rest of his statement. 

“When you have earned my respect, I will start using it.” He purposely leaned forward and added.  “Medic.” 

Ratchet’s face turned into an expression of rage.  He picked up a wrench and threw it at him.  Kaddrocrom, rather than ducking or otherwise evading, got the ‘sense’ to just relax himself, in a sense.  To both their surprise, the impromptu projectile went right through him.  The wrench landed with a clatter somewhere behind him. 

“Did that just…go right through you?”  Ratchet asked, his rage forgotten for the moment. 

“Apparently so,” Kaddrocrom replied, looking behind himself to see the wrench on the floor.  When he turned around again Ratchet was right there and he started poking him. 

“Odd…you’re solid now.”  The medic was muttering. 

That was annoying, but he saw an opportunity to prank him.  He recalled what he ‘did’ before and just when Ratchet gave a particularly hard ‘poke’ he did it again.  Ratchet yelped when his hand suddenly went right through him.  He quickly pulled it out again and inspected it, sighing with relief when he saw it was still intact. 

“Apparently, I have to ‘relax’ in some form to do it,” Kaddrocrom explained.  “Hard to describe.” 

“You can phase shift…,” Ratchet breathed.  “Fascinating…” 

“You find ‘that’ fascinating…yet you find the concept of magic and dragons to be processor breaking?” 

Ratchet gave him a look.  “ _This_ doesn’t bother me as our ancestors accomplished this very thing with device we call, as you would have it, The Phase Shifter’.” 

“Ah, so if you could replicate it…or otherwise explain it with the knowledge you have, it is fine.” 

“Pretty much, yes.” 

Kaddrocrom thought a moment, then decided it was time to try casting a simple magic spell.  He put down the device he was still holding before grabbing Ratchet’s hand.  Then he manipulated it so it was flat, palm up. 

“What are you doing?” Ratchet asked, looking both curious and worried. 

“Testing something,”  Kaddrocrom told him before starting the spell, chanting softly.  A few seconds later, a ball of light manifested over Ratchet’s hand. 

“By the Allspark….,” Ratchet gasped, his optics wide.  “How did you _do_ that?” 

“The Astral plane and the physical are intricately linked, intertwined,” Kaddrocrom explained as he watched Ratchet try to find the ‘source’ of the light with some amusement.  “Thus the energy of it is always available to manipulate into what you desire, provided one has the knowledge, or the tools, to do so.” 

“Just…how many ways are there to use this energy?” 

“Countless.  From the magical to the biological to the technological.”  Kaddrocrom started testing his newly found phasing ability on various objects, seeing what limits it had.  “Your technology, for instance, draws upon this energy.” 

“But that runs on energon…not…astral energy.” 

“And what is energon?” Kaddrocrom tilted his head in question at him, smirking slightly. 

“Well…it’s supposedly the blood…of….”  Ratchet’s jaw fell open. 

“Primus,” Kaddrocrom finished for him, at least out loud.  “An aspect of the All…who is everything and everyone…the essence of the astral plane itself.” 

It took a moment for the shock to wear off.  In that time the light spell had dissipated.   Ratchet looked disappointed.  “What about biological?”  he asked. 

“On the very basic level, it is a part of the very soul.”  He tried phasing an object with him through a table, it didn’t.   _So only myself then, noted._  “Or to use more correct terminology for us…our sparks.  I noticed during my time in Optimus that his spark is roughly a third astral, the rest physical.  Mine is now….”  He focused a moment.  “Fifty, fifty.” 

“’Now’?” 

“The ratio would change when you reincarnate, as I have.” 

“And as Arcee…technically did….”  The medic looked away, the shame on his face clear. 

Kaddrocrom wanted to soothe him, knowing that Ratchet really did mean well.  However, he did not want to encourage his obsession with her, not when they were both meant for others. 

Fortunately, they were both distracted by Optimus calling for a ground bridge. 

“Ugh, I won’t be surprised if Fowler pays us a visit,” Ratchet grumbled once the team was all back and they’ve been filled in on what happened. 

“That’s Jackie for ya,” Bulkhead sighed. 

“While we wait for the inevitable screaming session.”  Ratchet had a faint smirk on his face.  “Kaddrocrom discovered something new.  Bulkhead, punch him.” 

Kaddrocrom blinked in surprise, but then got what Ratchet was trying to do.  It was hard to keep a smirk off his own face. 

“Uh...OK,”  Bulkhead said hesitantly.  “Sorry if this hurts ya.” 

_Don’t worry, it won’t._  

As Bulkhead threw his punch, Kaddrocrom ‘activated’ his new ability.  The Wrecker’s fist went right through him.  The momentum, not having been absorbed like he expected, caused him to nearly spin fully around. 

“What the frag?” Bulkhead cried, looking at his fist, then at him.  Kaddrocrom smirked, his arms folded across his chest. 

“Phase shifting,” Optimus stated, getting it almost immediately.  “An ability that will no doubt be useful in the conflicts to come.” 

“Especially once I learn all its limitations,” Kaddrocrom agreed.  “I already learned that I can only phase myself: I cannot take objects or people with me.   However, I do not know if energy will pass through me harmlessly the same way.  Nor have I tested it’s effectiveness while in actual motion.” 

“Regardless, I think it would prove to be inspirational for figuring out a new name for you,” Jetfire commented. 

Kaddrocrom raised a brow.  “What is wrong with the one I have now?” he asked. 

“Well, you’re Cybertronian now,” Ratchet pointed out.  “Kaddrocrom’ doesn’t really suit it.” 

“Plus it is a bit of a mouthful to say in the heat of battle,” Bulkhead added.  “Unless you want us to start calling you ‘Kaddy’ all the time.” 

He twitched irritably at that nickname.  “Very well, you have convinced me,” he sighed.  “Any suggestions?” 

For the next half hour or so, they came up with various possible names.  Some he shot down outright, like Phaseflight.  That just felt awkward.  Others, like Shiftfire, took him longer to decide against.   Jetfire seemed pretty set on ‘Phasefire’, which was one of the ‘shot down immediately’ ones. 

However, there was one that he took a liking to almost immediately....

\--

Jackhammer

_Damn Prime…I do not follow your orders._  

Yet Wheeljack found himself flying the _Jackhammer_ to the Autobot base anyway.  He had no intentions of staying.  Just get repairs, then go hunting for Dreadwing again.  That seeker had to pay for what he did and sitting around having an energon tea party wasn’t going to accomplish that. 

Once he landed and secured his ship, he descended into base, were the rest of the Autobots were waiting.  Team Prime had a roster change since he was here last.  Aside from Jetfire, whom he met at the battle site, there was this new guy he had never seen before. 

He was as tall as the Prime, tan and brown in color with gold optics.  Frame was sleek and slender like certain seeker types, though overall appearance reminded him of a beast in a way.  Especially with those digitigrade legs and wicked claws on those hands. 

“Never seen a bot like you before,” Wheeljack commented as he looked up and down at the strange bot. 

“I am Phaseshot,” the new bot introduced himself with a courteous bow.  “I am a native of this world that was granted the gift of your form.” 

Wheeljack raised a brow at that.   _The frag?_  It would certainly explain his appearance at least.  “Whatever ya say.” 

“I still think Phase _fire_ would have been a better name,” Jetfire commented, his arms folded. 

“I think not,” Phaseshot disagreed. 

“I think Kaddy should still be used as a nickname,” Bumblebee suggested. 

“Absolutely not!”  The tan bot snapped, those winglets suddenly transforming into giant wings, making many bots jump, including Wheeljack. 

_Yeah, this guy is differently not a normal bot._  One to watch, Wheeljack decided, as he watched Phaseshot calm down and his wings transformed back into winglets.  Then as he cast his optics around, he realized one bot that was here last time was absent.  “Where’s Arcee?”  he asked. 

There was a noticeable rise in tension, he noticed.  Ratchet in particular seemed really tease.  Something happened, not a good thing.  That’s what his tank was telling him. 

“Arcee has taken a leave of absence for…personal reasons,” Optimus explained.  “We do not know when she will return.” 

Wheeljack frowned, his optics narrowing slightly.  He knew political slag when he heard it, but decided not to press the issue.  Ratchet, he noticed, seemed relieved for the ‘political explanation’. 

“Alright, sit,” the medic told him.  “So I can fix your shoulder.” 

Wheeljack did so, only to yelp in pain moments later.  “Ow!  Take it easy, doc! I need that arm.” 

“Hold still and maybe you’ll keep it,” Ratchet retorted before resuming work. 

“Look, Commander, apologies for the fireworks.  Won’t happen again,” Wheeljack started to explain, figured he’d at least _try_ to get the Prime to understand his actions.  “But I’ve tracked Dreadwing across a hundred lightyears of space!” 

He then went into his story.  How he got into contact with fellow Wrecker Seaspray and what happened to him.  He crushed his optics closed as he told them that Dreadwing was responsible for Seaspray’s death.  And that he’s been after him ever since. 

The pain of that loss was still too fresh in his processor, only further cementing his desire to work alone.  Well, there were other reasons as well, but all the pain and death of those he cared about was the biggest one.  Especially the recent ones…. 

Then the Prime started going on about how _he_ needed to carefully measure his actions.  This just torqued him up.  “Are you suggesting that we just sit back and do _nothing_!?”  he demanded. 

But before a heated argument could start, a new voice intervened. 

“You!”  a dark skinned human snapped, pointing at him.  “Loose cannon!  Your cowboy antics almost blew our cover!” 

“Cover?”  Wheeljack echoed, confused. 

“We’re robots in disguise, Jackie,” Bulkhead explained.  “You need an earth based vehicle mode outside of here.” 

“That spaceship you shot down,” Fowler continued, wildly gesturing with his hands.  “ _Not_ earthbased!  Had to jump through some _big_ hoops to get it hauled out of plain sight.  You need to keep a tighter leash on your people, Prime!” 

_Ok, that’s it._  Wheeljack has had enough.  “A tighter leash?” he snarled.  “Let me clarify, tiny.” 

“Jackie…,” Bulkhead warned, but Wheeljack ignored him as he put his face right up against the human’s. 

“I’m _not_ one of Optimus Prime’s _people_.”  With one last glare at the human, he turned and walked away.  He couldn’t stand it here anymore, he was going back to the Jackhammer. 

\-- 

They watched Wheeljack go and Bulkhead went after him.  As Optimus explained to Agent Fowler about Wheeljack’s attitude, Ratchet muttered.  “I can see why you got that vision, Phaseshot.” 

“He walks a dark road, indeed,”  Phaseshot sighed. 

“So,” Agent Fowler spoke up, getting their attention.  “I see you got another new guy.  Almost looks like he’s from a mythology book.” 

“This is Phaseshot, though his previous name was Kaddrocrom,” Optimus explained. 

The human blinked in surprise a few times.  “Hold on a moment,” he said rubbing his head.  “You mean this guy is the dragon that was living in your cranium?” 

“Indeed,” Phaseshot replied.  “I was given a new form due to the incident at the research facility, where your kind were tampering with things they do not understand.” 

“That’s why it’s called a _research_ facility,” Agent Fowler retorted, with a roll of his eyes.  “So we can learn _to_ understand it.” 

“And my kind _removed_ your ability to understand it _eons_ ago because you started to use it recklessly!”  Phaseshot snapped, stomping forward.  “Despite our attempts to correct your behavior otherwise!” 

Ratchet was a bit surprised Phaseshot was getting heated so quickly.  Aside from when someone called him ‘Kaddy’ of course.  Proper ‘magic’ use seemed to be a real stickler for him.  The medic made a mental note to remember that. 

Unlike Wheeljack, whom didn’t have to bend down far to look at Fowler in the eye from his position, Phaseshot _towered_ over him.  “If we had not,” Phaseshot growled.  “The world itself would have ended up lifeless and barren!” 

“You don’t know that, Puff!” Fowler retorted, unafraid. 

Phaseshot growled again, this time bending down to get face to face to him.  “You speak to one who receives visions of the future, human,” he snarled. 

Fowler raised a brow at that. “Really?  Care to tell me if the Patriots will win their next game?” 

Phaseshot rolled his optics.  “My curse is not used for such _petty_ things,” he snorted before righting himself and turning away. 

“Curse?”  Ratchet asked as Phaseshot sat down next to him, fuming slightly.  “I wouldn’t consider such an ability a curse.” 

“Some things are better off not to be known by anyone,” the former dragon muttered.  Ratchet found himself agreeing with that. 

“Seems you have your hands full now, Prime,” Fowler was saying.  “Two hot tempered bots and one of them a loose cannon?” 

“Phaseshot, in the time I’ve known him, does not usually have such a short fuse,” Optimus explained. 

“Right, he’s just sensitive about certain things,” Fowler nodded, understanding.  “Speaking of which, I was able to dig up some of that info you wanted to know about that facility.” 

Ratchet caught himself leaning forward a bit so he was certain he could hear.  Phaseshot was doing the same. 

“About a decade ago a group of geologists looking for a potential volcanic hot spot when they detected an unusual energy signature.  They brought in the bigger eggheads to study it, but they couldn’t figure out the source.  Then some engineer found a way to tap into it as an energy source, but they could never get the energy further than the facility that was built around it.  There were reports that those that worked there never got sick, hell…even some claims of terminal illnesses disappearing.  They knew it had to be that energy, but they couldn’t figure out _how_ , so they kept it hush hush so the place didn’t get swamped with the worlds sick.” 

“What happened after the generator was destroyed?”  Optimus asked. 

“In a word:  miracle,” Fowler replied.  “The place was a barren wasteland…now it’s covered with lush vegetation that went extinct _ages_ ago.  The paleobotanists are having a field day!  There are also reports still coming in of people claiming to have injuries healed and illnesses cured from within a hundred-mile radius of the blast zone.” 

“Well, I can assure you that part is likely true,” Bumblebee spoke up.  “It healed my vocalizer.” 

The human nodded in acknowledgement.  “This is still preliminary, but from the early reports from the scientist’s that returned to the site state that they can no longer detect the energy signature.” 

“Then it is closed,” Phaseshot sighed with a hint of relief. 

“Pardon me?” 

“What your kind was tapping into was an _elnserzi_ , or Astral Well.” 

“That sounds like some kind of...”  He seemed to be searching for the right word.  “Pagan thing.” 

“In a sense, yes,” Phaseshot confirmed.  “As some of your more ‘nature’ based religions are more aware of it, but not as aware as your kind as a whole once was.” 

“So are there more of these elnsneezies?” 

“ _Elnserzi_ ,” Phaseshot corrected with a faint snarl to his tone.  “Yes, there are…and no I will not tell you were to look.”  Before Fowler could protest he added.  “Each one has a different purpose.  You were fortunate the one you were tapping into was healing based:  others are not so…benign.” 

“Point taken.” 

Ratchet noticed that Phaseshot finally started to relax.  Fowler seemingly understanding the seriousness of what he told him must have been a weight off his shoulders. 

“However, we fear the Decepticon’s will be seeking out the Astral Wells for their own nefarious purposes,” Optimus cautioned. 

“Got it. I’ll tell my end to keep an extra eye out for Con activity.  In the meantime, we are closing in on your bot turned dragon,” Fowler announced.  “Within a day or two, we should have her.” 

“You will succeed in finding her, but fail in catching her,” Phaseshot warned.  “Her guardian will not let her go so easily.” 

Ratchet looked at him, his mouth slightly open.  Phaseshot just made a prediction, he was certain of it.  Starscream would fight to keep her that hard in his condition?  He found that surprising. 

“Oh mister highheels you mean?” Fowler sighed.  Jetfire and Bumblebee snerked as they tried to repress a giggle.  “My boys will be keeping him in account and only try to catch her when she is alone.” 

“Still, I _strongly_ advise that when he shows, to back off,” Phaseshot insisted.  “Otherwise there will be needless death.” 

“I’ll pass that on,” Fowler agreed.  “I better head back.  Good luck with your new resident hothead, Prime.” 

“I’ll need it…,” Optimus sighed. 

After Fowler had left, Ratchet turned to Phasehot. 

“Is it true what you said,” he asked.  “That Starscream will fight to keep her?” 

“He will kill to protect those he cares about,” Phaseshot stated grimly. 

“I’m afraid I can confirm that,” Jetfire spoke up.  He is fiercely protective of those he considers friends and family.  Nearly lost his own freedom once because of it.” 

“Now you got me curious,” Ratchet admitted.  A few others were looking Jetfire’s way now. 

“Alright.” The large seeker shifted a bit before he continued.  “Back during the Golden Age, he was in love with another seeker named Quickwing, they were planning to be Conjuxed.  Unfortunately, she was under the command of a bitter rival of his, Silverdive.  He arranged to have Quickwing brutally murdered…it devastated Starscream.  When he found out Silverdive was responsible, it took me, Skywarp, Thundercracker _and_ Winglord Zephyr to calm him down enough so he didn’t go rip the slagger to pieces before his sentence was carried out.” 

“By the Allspark,” Ratchet gasped.  Yet, Ratchet found himself understanding Starscream’s position here.  To lose someone you were about to give all your spark to could break anyone. 

“Silverdive was stripped of his rank and exiled,” Jetfire continued.  “A few Joors later, he and Starscream met at the border and Silverdive attacked him.” 

“Ut oh…,” Bumblebee muttered.  “Silverdive didn’t live, did he?” 

“Let’s just say…Starscream has an ‘optic for an optic’ policy: what was done to Quickwing…he did to him.” 

Ratchet and Bumblebee shuddered.  Optimus just sighed.  While Phaseshot had an odd, calm indifference about him. 

“He was course punished for it,” Jetfire explained.  “Forced to be the Winglord’s personal secretary for a few Joors.” 

“That’s _it_?”  Ratchet exclaimed, his optics wide.  “That reeks of _favoritism!_ ” 

“Silverdive was already classed as an exile, thus not subject to the protection of the laws of Vos,” Optimus reasoned.  “That he attacked Starscream would have made Starscream’s actions an act of self-defense…albeit…a very _stretched_ definition of it in this case.” 

“Trust me when I say that doing nothing but paperwork is punishment enough for him,” Jetfire added with a snicker.  “He _hates_ paperwork.” 

“Well…I can agree with him on that,” Bumblebee admitted.  “Who likes paperwork?” 

Optimus visibly shifted, but remained silent.  Ratchet snickered knowingly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream hints about his past, while Optimus and Phaseshot go on a rescue mission.

Wilderness 

_Everything seemed twisted, warped.  Empty.  Just rows and rows of hallways and corridors, which seemed to shift every time he blinked or looked away for only a nano._

_Still, Starscream did his best to navigate this, looking for a way out.  There had to be a way out._

_“Boss.”_

_He stilled, his spark leaping for joy at the voice.  Skywarp!  He had the superior navigation system, he would know how to get out of here.  But when he turned around to see him, he recoiled in shock and horror._

_It was Skywarp, or rather, what was left of him.  The once proud seeker was a mess.  Half his face was gone, wings blown off, right arm and leg were missing.  The edges of the wounds burnt and charred.  They were also sparking, leaking energon and other fluids._

_“Why?”  What was left of Skywarp’s face twisted into an expression of pain and betrayal.  “Why did you do this to me?”_

_Starscream scrambled backward, only for his back to meet a wall.  Looking back, he saw the maze of hallways had disappeared, changing into a single room with no way out.  He looked back at Skywarp, whom had drawn closer to him.  Starscream tried to speak, but nothing but static came out of his vocalizer._

_“I’ve been with you for so long…,” Skywarp was saying, his voice pained.  “Stood by you for everything.  Why…why did you do this to me?  Why did you hurt me?”_

_Skywarp’s remaining hand was reaching out to him…._

 

Starscream gasped as he awoke, intaking heavily.   _Skywarp…oh Skywarp…._  His optics clouded as he sobbed. 

~What’s wrong?~ 

He jumped, briefly confused over the foreign voice in his head.  Then he remembered his dragon companion.  Her head was up, the faint glow of what little light there was reflecting form the back of her eyes, her expression one of concern. 

“Nothing…,” he muttered, blinking rapidly to clear the clouding.  “Just…a bad dream.” 

Those ears of hers were shifting back a bit, a frown now on her face.  ~About?~ she asked, her head now tilted slightly. 

Starscream sighed, getting the feeling she wasn’t going to let it go.  “Someone I got killed…someone that was by my side from almost the very beginning of my life…someone I cared deeply about….” 

His voice cracked and his processor flooded with memories…. 

\-- 

Arcee watched as Starscream sat up and crossed his arms over his knees before resting his chin upon them. Between his down expression and the drooping of his wings, he clearly had a lot of sorrow and guilt.   

~Tell me about them,~ she prompted, both out of curiosity and knowing it was not something Starscream should keep buried. 

There was a long drawn out sigh and she wondered if he was going to say anything.  She was about to tell him that it was OK if he wasn’t comfortable when he finally started speaking. 

“Skywarp…his name was Skywarp,” the silver seeker confided.  “We met during the Quintesson occupation.”  A short laugh.  “He stole something from me…and I chased him all the way to the outskirts of Vos to get it back.  Only we wound up captured by a Quintesson ‘crime suppression’ team and taken to one of their labs.  I broke us out.  We…became friends after that.” 

Arcee’s eyes narrowed slightly.  There was more to this story he was not telling.  She had heard of Skywarp:  a teleporter, but not known to be very bright and could be easily distracted.  How much of that was actually _true_ she did not know, as she never encountered the seeker herself as far as she knew.  War was a messy, confusing experience…. 

“He can be a bit of bolt-for-processor at times,” Starscream continued, a faint smile on his face as he was recalling pleasant memories.  “Pranks he played sometimes borderline cruel…but he had a good spark in him.  Compassionate and caring toward those he considered family…he made me an ‘honorary brother’.  He taught me much about life…how to have fun…how to _live.”_  

The seeker lowered his gaze, his smile fading. 

“He was with me…by my side for many troubles and problems…and I did the same for him. He trusted me with his life….”  His face fell, turning to grief and anguish.  “And I ultimately ended it for my own selfish gain…that amounted to _nothing_ but a lot of senseless death!” 

His voice was cracking, optics clouded up again as he buried his face in his hands.  “I fragged up!” he cried.  “I tasked him to plant a bomb with the aim to kill the leaders of both factions…only I fragged up on the timer!  He needed five nanos to calculate a safe teleport, the timer only had one!  It should have been ten!  I killed him!  My dear, sweet, Skywarp…my friend…my brother…and I killed him!” 

As the seeker descended into spark breaking sounding sobs, Arcee thought back to what Optimus had told her about their journey to this planet.  His mention of a bomb fit what happened on Aquatron:  someone did try to kill both Optimus and Megatron during peace talks using such a device.   _So he was the one responsible for that._  

Yet, seeing him so broken, so obviously guilt ridden over it, made it hard for her to be angry with him.  Yes, he had bad intentions then to start with, but knowing the Quintessons, they probably manipulated him into doing it in the first place.  Just so they had an excuse to try killing them all. It was a miracle any Cybertronian escaped them, from what Optimus told her. 

And again, there seemed to be details, _important_ details, he was not revealing.  Her gut was telling her this seeker had a lot of secrets.  Perhaps with time, so long as she can keep her true identity under wraps, he will eventually spill them. 

But that also required trust.  A trust that was slowly building between them, yes, but needed to be _kept_ building.  Right now, the seeker needed comfort, but how?  Her current form limited her options.  There was really only one thing she could do…. 

\-- 

He was lost in his emotions, his grief, when he felt a warmth press against him. Mostly against his lower back, but also along either side.  Something wrapped around his front.  Once he had cleared his optics enough he saw it was the dragon’s tail.  The dragon had curled herself around him, the best she could, that odd warmth now penetrating his frame.  Filling him with that sense of comfort and love he got so rarely now. 

~It is alright,~ she soothed him.  ~He is with the All now.~ 

“Are you so sure?”  Starscream muttered, leaning back against her a bit.  “He haunts me….” 

~Is it him…or your guilt that is haunting you?~ 

“I….” 

~If you had really known each other that long…and that well…wouldn’t Skywarp understand that you made a mistake?  Wouldn’t he have forgiven you?~ 

“I…I don’t know,” Starscream admitted.  “Since the exodus…I…I hadn’t been as kind to him as I once was. Thinking back now…I don’t understand why I acted that way.  It was like I was a different person.  I’m seeing that now and it bothers me.” 

~But you can’t change the past,~ she told him. 

“No…,” he agreed.  “But it defines who you are…and how people treat you.”  He sighed before adding.  “And there are many things in my past that people would see me differently for if they knew.” 

~How so?~  Her tone was curious. 

He remained quiet a moment, uncertain how to answer that.  “There are things I could have… _should_ have done,” he finally stated.  “That would have prevented a lot of needless death and destruction.” 

Starscream wasn’t looking at her, but he could feel her body tense slightly.

 ~You cannot be certain of that.~  She commented after a moment, a hint of that very tension in her tone. 

“If you knew my full history…you may not have said that,” he muttered.  “But…perhaps you are right as well.  No one can predict the future….” 

For some reason, the dragon chuckled a bit at that. 

\--

Autobot base 

The next few breems had been spent just relaxing and winding down.  For some anyway. 

Phaseshot was fielding questions from a very curious Jetfire on the nature of the astral and magic, while both the seeker and Ratchet were helping him test the limits of his phasing ability.  Turned out that, he couldn’t phase while in flight.  Though perhaps with practice that could change. 

Eventually it dawned on them that Bulkhead had yet to return.  So Ratchet checked the tracker.  He did not like what he saw.  After a few failed attempts to contact the former Wrecker, he got Optimus’ attention. 

“Bulkhead’s signal over a thousand miles from here,” the medic stated.  “And I would have to imagine that Wheeljack is with him.” 

“Have you attempted contact?” Optimus asked. 

Ratchet turned toward him before replying.  “No response.” 

Ratchet could see the grim expression the Prime’s face.  “Ready the ground bridge,” Optimus ordered.  “I’m go check on them.” 

“Optimus,” Phaseshot spoke up.  “I would like to accompany you.  To get a chance to...spread my wings...so to speak.” 

Optimus studied the former dragon a moment.  “Something happened, hasn’t it?” he asked. 

“Was I that obvious?” Phaseshot stated with a smirk. 

Optimus smirked back.  “I have yet to see you do things without reason.” 

“Groundbridge is ready,” Ratchet announced, the swirling green vortex appearing.  “And if Wheeljack got Bulkhead hurt...I’ll shove a wrench up his aft.” 

“What did you see?” Optimus asked as he and Phaseshot walked through. 

“Only that the battle Wheeljack got them into did not go as expected,” Phaseshot replied as they emerged into a lightly forested area.  “No one is dead or seriously injured…” 

“But that may change.” Optimus took in the new surroundings.  He spotted the Jackhammer in the distance, but no sign of either Wheeljack or Bulkhead. 

“There is that possibility if things are not handled carefully.  Allow me.”   

As Optimus observed, Phaseshot leapt into the air and spread his wings.  After gaining some height, his legs suddenly changed, shifting into a tail.   

“Oh, how quaint,” Phaseshot commented, before he focused on the task at hand.  After a klik he shouted.  “To the south, there’s a recent landslide in a ravine.  I see movement within.” 

“I’ll meet you there!”  Optimus told him as he shifted to alt-mode and headed that way. 

By the time he reached the location, Phaseshot was already starting to dig through the rubble.  Someone was grunting and groaning within it.  Once Optimus dug in, the rather unhappy form of Wheeljack popped out. 

“What took ya so long, Bulk?  Don’t tell me ridin’ with Prime has made ya-”  Wheeljack stopped when he noticed who was digging him out.  “Soft….” 

Optimus ignored the comment and reached for his hand.  The Wrecker was too surprised to refuse and let the Prime pull him out.  “If you will not take orders from me that is one thing,” Optimus started to admonish him.  “But when you place one of my Autobots in danger-” 

“With all due respect, sir,” Wheeljack interrupted.  “Bulkhead knew the risks.  Every Wrecker does. Now I’m sure he’s just...somewhere in this rumble.” 

“He’s not,” Phaseshot commented. 

“Oh really?  How do you know?”  Wheeljack grumbled, rounding on him.  “Got some...special talent or somethin’?” 

//Optimus,\\\ Ratchet cut in before Phaseshot could respond.  //Bulkhead’s signal has moved from your current position.\\\ 

Wheeljack was slackjawed and Phaseshot just looked at him smugly, folding his arms.  He then shook his head and started walking away, heading in the direction of the Jackhammer.  “You coming with?” he called back. “Don’t think there’s room for both of you and me though.” 

“Pfft...I can fly on my own,”  Phaseshot commented before taking to the air. 

“Well then...hope you can keep up.” 

\-- 

That annoying slagger _could_ keep up.  Wheeljack rolled his optics as Phaseshot swooped and darted around the Jackhammer, being a big aft showoff.  He thought he heard him laughing too. 

“Well he’s certainly enjoyin’ himself,” Wheeljack grumbled.  “You’d think he’d never flown before with the way he’s actin’.” 

“Phaseshot was originally a creature known as a dragon, a being from this planet’s mythology,” Optimus explained. Wheeljack noticed the Prime looked a bit uncomfortable being forced to hunch over in his seat.  It gave him a bit of satisfaction seeing that. 

“And now he’s one of us?”  Wheeljack commented.  “How’d that happen?” 

He listened as Optimus told the story, doing a few double takes as the story went on.  “I’ve seen and heard some crazy slag in my life, Prime,” he commented once the tale was over.  “That ranks pretty high up there on my ‘unfraggin’believable’ list.” 

“You are not the only one that had trouble believing it,” Optimus admitted.  “Ratchet’s refusal to open his mind to the possibility resulted in Arcee’s current absence.” 

“So what _did_ happen with Arcee?”  Wheeljack asked, seizing the opportunity to get the real story.   

After Optimus told him _that_ story, he was shaking his head.   _This place just gets crazier and crazier._  

“In a way, I don’t blame the Doc,” Wheeljack admitted.  He noticed Phaseshot’s flying had calmed down considerably:  he was just flying next to the Jackhammer normally now.  “After bein’ told what you just told me...I’d be skeptical too.  But I don’t blame _her_ for reactin’ that way either.” 

Optimus was nodding slowly. 

“Still...big risk choosing the hang with o’Screamer.  Especially with his reputation.” 

“There are signs he is may become open to changing sides,” Optimus told him. 

“Pfft...right...when the Pit freezes over.”  Wheeljack glanced at the navigation console.  “Hey showoff,” he commed Phaseshot.  “We are getting close to the spot the Doc told us about, may want to park yourself on top so ya don’t freak out the locals.” 

//Understood,\\\ Phaseshot replied.  A few seconds later, the Jackhammer shifted ever so slightly when the former dragon attached himself to the top of it.  A shift Wheeljack only noticed due to his intimate familiarity with his ship.  //Allow me to assist you in ensuring you do not ‘freak out the locals’ yourself.\\\ 

“No messin’ around with my ship with that magic stuff!” Wheeljack warned. 

//Please...it’s not like I’m going to change your ship into a big bird,\\\ Phaseshot responded with a chuckle.  //Just a bit of camouflage...that’s all.\\\ 

“That’s what I’m worried about!” 

//Oof...OK, casting invisibility on something like this took more out of me than I thought.\\\ 

_Wait...what?  Invisibility?_  Wheeljack wasn’t sure if he should be intrigued or worried. 

“Don’t tax yourself so quickly, Phaseshot,” Optimus warned.  “We do not know what we will find when we arrive.” 

//Don’t worry, I won’t cast anymore spells unless absolutely necessary.\\\ 

They landed a short time later at the far end of a shipping dock, which was covered in a maze of shipping crate stacks.  As they disembarked, Wheeljack noticed what Phaseshot was speaking the truth:  he couldn’t see the Jackhammer.   

“Hey, showoff!” he called out.  “Mind makin’ it so I can _see_ my own ship?” 

“My apologies,” Phaseshot stated as he jumped down.  He muttered something and the Jackhammer came into view.  “I canceled the spell.  Whew...I feel better now.  The Casualty cost on that was draining on my soul...er...spark.” 

“Casting magic uses your spark energy?” Optimus asked. 

“Apparently so, at least in this case,” Phaseshot confirmed.  His optics then widened.  “Arfeu’s luck...you go on ahead. I got something I need to do.”  Without further explanation, he ran off into the maze.  On all fours. 

Weirdo. 

“What’s his problem?”  Wheeljack muttered as he brought out a signal tracker from his subspace. 

“He has precognition,” Optimus explained as they went into the maze themselves, heading toward Bulkhead’s signal.  “He must been shown something he needed to act upon.” 

“So he can see the future...handy.”  Wheeljack wished he had someone with that ability at his side ages ago. 

They searched in silence for several kliks.  Optimus had his blasters out and was covering his rear while Wheeljack kept an optic on the front and the tracker.  The Prime then chose to break the silence by being annoying.  “We are close to population, remember-” 

“Blasters and fuel pumps don’t mix,” Wheeljack interrupted.  A bit rude, he realized, but he already learned that lesson.  “Our boy is just up ahead,” he announced after a few more nanos. 

They turned a corner and recoiled in surprise.  Bulkhead was alive, but he was bound to a stack of crates. 

And he had a ticking bomb attached to his chest.  “Hey guys…,” Bulkhead said sheepishly. 

Wheeljack said what he was certain Optimus wanted to say himself. 

“Scrap….” 

\-- 

_Seven...there are seven…._ Phaseshot ran through the maze as fast as he could.  He skidded to a stop at one of the locations he was shown.  It took a moment, but he spotted the large shuriken shaped device, it’s center glowing red.  Without hesitation, he detached it from the crate it was attached to, then moved on.  He could hear Optimus talking to this, Dreadwing, trying to appeal to him. 

After reaching the second device, he realized this was going take too long running around ‘legit’. So he subspaced the devices and started taking a shortcut by phasing through the crates.  After the third and forth devices, he realized he needed to change tactics again, due to the sound of battle having erupted.  He cast invisibility upon himself and took to the air. 

By the time he got the sixth device, he saw Optimus had Dreadwing pinned under a huge magnet.  A bomb rigged Bulkhead and Wheeljack were standing right next to him. 

_Just one more!_   He reached it as Dreadwing agreed to disarm the one on Bulkhead. 

He flew over them, then dropped all but one of the devices into the water.  Then, just as Dreadwing disarmed the device on Bulkhead, he attached the last one to the Con’s back. 

“I had it narrowed down to the blue or yellow,” Wheeljack was saying.  “Or the red.” 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…,” Phaseshot warned, canceling the invisibility spell as he stood next to Optimus.  “Unless of course...you want to blow yourself up….” 

Dreadwings optics widened, surprised at his sudden appearance, the finger he was about to use to slyly hit the detonator stilling.  The rest of the Autobots, while surprised themselves, took the cue to rapidly get some distance from him.  Phaseshot stayed in place however. 

The Decepticon rapidly got to his feet and felt his back.  He found the device and pulled it off.  “How….” he asked. 

“That’s for me to know....,” Phaseshot said smugly.  Then he was hit with a powerful image.  He saw Dreadwing on the ground, his frame mostly melted away.  “Unless you change your course in life, Dreadwing...you will die a painful death,” he stated grimly.  “A death by the hottest of flames.” 

“If I die in the service of Megatron, then it will be a good death!” Dreadwing snapped, throwing the device at him.  The Con’s optics widened in shock when Phasehot let it phase through him, the device skipping and sliding into the water behind him.  “Who...or what... are you!?” he demanded. 

“Phaseshot,” Phaseshot replied with a grin.  “A being of many talents.” 

With a growl, Dreadwing hit the detonator anyway, no doubt expecting the rest of his devices to still be in place.  He was again surprised when nothing happened, save for a rush of air erupting from the ocean’s surface. 

“Yeah, I retrieved those too,” Phaseshot admitted smugly. 

Dreadwing roared in frustration, shifted to his alt-mode and flew off.  The rest of the Autobot’s shooting at him. 

“OK, I admit that was rather badaft,”  Wheeljack admitted once Dreadwing was long gone.  “But ya could have wasted him!” 

“He still has a role to play in the events to come,” Phaseshot told him.  “An important one.” 

“So, what, we are just goin’ to let him get away to kill more of us in the future!?”  The Wrecker demanded. 

“Unless the sands of fate greatly shift, no more Autobot lives will be lost by _his_ hands,” Phaseshot stated bluntly.  “And his ultimate fate is slowly turning into stone.” 

“What’s with all the metaphorical scrap?  Talk plainly will ya?” 

“Some things are not meant to be spoken ‘plainly’,”  Phaseshot remarked cheekily. 

“Ugh!”  Wheeljack threw up his hands and started walking back toward the Jackhammer.  “I’ll meet ya back at the base.  There’s not enough room for all of us in the Jackhammer and I’m not goin’ to leave it here.” 

“I’ll accompany you then,” Phaseshot stated, easily catching up to him.  Behind him Optimus called for a ground bridge for himself and Bulkhead. 

“You can fly...why would ya want to?”  Wheeljack was grumbling.

“Because you and I have something important to discuss.”  After a pause he added.  “About your own future.”

The look on Wheeljack’s face told him he was _not_ looking forward to that.  Still, the Wrecker did not tell him to take a hike, so, a good thing, he supposed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ratchet learns more about Jetfire's old squad and Phaseshot has a talk with Wheeljack.

_ Autobot Base _

While Optimus and Phaseshot were off on a likely rescue mission, Jetfire was reflecting on recent events.  It...upset him...at how stubborn Ratchet was being over Starscream. True, he was upset at Starscream himself, but he held on to the hope that his once best friend and commander would return to his senses.  To return to the humble and fair seeker he once was.

Yet, could he blame Ratchet for distrusting him?  Maybe. Ratchet was older than he was: surely he had heard or even  _ meet _ Starscream before the war?  That was probably hoping for too much, as Ratchet seemed to be a bot that focused more on work than social matters.

At the very least it seemed the old medic was  _ finally _ starting to be more open minded on the magic thing.  Phaseshot was a great help there, if not being a bit prankish about it.   _ Then again...when was last time someone like him could just have a bit of fun with someone? _

Not that Phaseshot was immune to getting pranked himself, such as Miko’s comment about Optimus being his ‘daddy’.  Jetfire’s sides still tingled a little from how hard he had laughed at that. He smirked a bit at the memory.

“Hey, Jetfire.”

Jetfire jumped a little at Ratchet’s voice.  “Yeah?” he replied, looking over his shoulder at him.

Ratchet’s back was to him as he was running a simulation on a console.  “Why do you defend him? When you yourself said he had changed in a negative way?”

There was only one bot he could be referring to.  Jetfire took in a deep intake and let it out slowly to calm his nerves.  “Because I find it hard to believe the bot that did his best to combat seeker elitism and took the time to get to know the lower caste bots...could change that drastically and suddenly.”

Ratchet had turned toward him, a bit of a look of surprise on his face, though it quickly steeled.  “War can do that to bots,” he stated. “You said yourself he started to change after Vos was destroyed.”

“But the change I saw after I left…,” Jetfire countered, turning toward him fully now himself.  “Was too quick to be  _ natural. _ ”   He sighed.  “I’d love to pick Skywarp and Thundercracker’s processors to find out  _ why. _ ”

Ratchet looked down at the floor, a look of regret on his face.  “I’m afraid that opportunity is long gone: those two died when we had an encounter with the Quintessons during the exodus.”

Jetfire staggered, his mouth dropping in shock.  “No...no…,” he muttered in disbelief. “Not the twins!  That...that must have devastated him….”

Ratchet looked back up at him in interest.  “They were close?”

“Yes….”  Jetfire’s processor was flitting through memories of the two.  Skywarp’s mischievous but sweet sparked nature. Thundercracker’s laid back, calm demeanor.   “They had known each other since the Age of Wrath. Fought together during the war then. Skywarp and Starscream were especially close, like brothers.  I suspect even more than that for a brief time.”

The medic raised a ridge on that.  “Fraternization?”

“I don’t think it was intended…,” Jetfire clarified.  “Starscream was helping Skywarp recover from a traumatic experience during that time.”

“What sort of traumatic experience?”

Jetfire shuddered, feeling it wasn’t his place to say.  However, if Skywarp was truly gone….

_ If it helped Ratchet understand how Starscream was before, he would understand. _

“Skywarp...was a flirtatious bot, to put it mildly,” he explained.  “Got him into trouble a lot. Eventually wound up with a stalker: a particularly nasty and twisted bot named Flashwing.  We all tried to keep him safe, but Flashwing was both patient and resourceful...he eventually was able to kidnap Skywarp. Skywarp was able to escape on his own,  Flashwing caught and sent to prison, but the damage had been done. It took  _ orns _ for him to even  _ start _ to get back to normal.”

“By the Allspark…” Ratchet breathed.  “I imagine Starscream did not take this well.”

“He wanted to rip the slagger to pieces,” Jetfire stated bluntly.  “But he showed remarkable restraint: I think after the incident with Silverdive he didn’t want to push his luck again.”

Ratchet was nodding in understanding.  “So what’s your connection with him?”

“Heh...I actually first met him when I was a sparkling,” Jetfire replied, blushing slightly.  “I don’t remember it, but he always teased me on how I liked to sit on his head.”

The medic was looking at him up and down, making him feel a little self-conscious.

“Don’t believe me? Here.”  Jetfire sent him a photo his Caretaker took and gave him after he had reached adult size.

“Well I’ll be…,” Ratchet chuckled.  “So he was your Caretaker?”

“Nah.  Sparklings in general seem to gravitate toward him for some reason.  Strangest thing. Didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing. If there were sparklings around...they went to him.   Always brightened his mood, no matter how dark it was.”

Jetfire recalled when apparently Primus himself manifested as a sparkling just to stop Starscream from killing himself after Quickwing was murdered.  He decided not to mention that, as that might stretch believability a bit too much for Ratchet.

“He must not have taken it well when we sent the Allspark into deep space….”  Ratchet muttered, looking downcast.

“I can safely say it did not help his mental state….”  After a pause he added. “I think that’s what finally drove him to start the chain of events that led up to Trypticon being taken over.”

Ratchet was tilting his head.  “I think I need more context….”

Jetfire shifted uncomfortably.  Going into detail here would risk breaking another promise he made.  Two promises, actually.  _ Does the first one really matter now? _

“He had a spark shield...of Quintesson origin,” Jetfire stated, feeling that twinge of guilt from telling this.  Ratchet’s optics were already widening as he continued. “One the Council kept refusing to give him permission to have removed.”

“But…why?”  Ratchet looked flabbergasted.

Jetfire shrugged, sighing.  “No one ever told him why. He eventually had it removed illegally shortly after the Allspark was sent away.  Needless to say, he wasn’t a big ‘fan’ of the Council. It’s one of the reasons why he stayed neutral for as long as he did…though joining the Cons wasn’t exactly ‘willing’.”

Ratchet seemed to be piecing some of it together.  “Megatron had something on him,” he guessed. “Something he felt he couldn’t risk losing...or exposed....”

Jetfire simply nodded and at that moment, Optimus called in for a ground bridge.

\--

_ Jackhammer _

Phaseshot was definitely  _ still  _ an annoying slagger, Wheeljack decided.

The odd bot, instead of sitting in the passenger seat like a  _ normal _ bot, was sitting like a damn cybercat behind and next to it.  He looked awkward and a bit nervous, actually. Perhaps flying  _ in _ something rather that doing the flying himself was uncomfortable for him.

Still, the former dragon hadn’t said a word since they started on the journey back.  Didn’t he have something  _ oh so important _ to talk to him about?  What was he waiting for?

Finally, after about twenty kliks of waiting, Wheeljack couldn’t take it anymore.

“You goin’ to talk or what?” he asked bluntly.  “You said we had somethin’ to discuss, like my future.”

Phaseshot seemed to jump a bit at his voice.  He allowed himself a small smirk at that.  _ Guess he doesn’t foresee everything. _

“I do wonder,” Phaseshot finally spoke, his words sounding carefully measured.  “Why you insist on working alone, when working with others would get more accomplished.”

Wheeljack snorted and rolled his optics.  This old argument again. “My group was scattered a long time ago,” he stated.  “Working alone, I found, made things less complicated.”

There was a moment of silence before Phaseshot spoke again.  “I do not believe that is truly the case.”

“Believe what ya want,” he grumbled.  “It’s none of your business.”

“The life you currently live is on a path of self destruction.”

He felt one of his brows twitch and his jaw clench.  What fragging right did he have to judge how he lived his life!?  Wheeljack set the ship on autopilot before rising from his seat to face him.  

“Oh really?” he growled, looking at him in the optics:  with how Phaseshot was sitting he was just about optic level with him.  “Just what do ya know, show off? You know  _ nothing _ about me!”

“But I know your  _ type _ ,” Phaseshot countered, his voice edged with an animalistic growl.  “This form may be new to me, but I am not naïve, nor ignorant. It did not pass my notice how much you care about Bulkhead, the pain in your eyes when you told us of Seaspray’s demise.  You have suffered and lost much in this war your people are stuck in. So much so you have convinced yourself it is better off to be alone, to cut yourself off from others, to stop yourself from forming anymore bonds.  To spare yourself more pain.”

This slagger had him pegged.  Pegged to a tee. Wheeljack’s optics were wide, his mouth hanging open.  

“Can ya blame me!?” he finally snapped.  “I’ve lost so many friends… _ family _ in this Primus damned war!  Too many! I couldn’t take wakin’ up every mornin’ wonderin’ who I was going to lose next anymore!”  

His optics were starting to cloud up.  Wheeljack crushed them closed as he turned around again.  He was ashamed of himself for losing control, to show such emotion to someone he didn’t know.   _ I’m a Primus damned Wrecker!  I shouldn’t be getting upset like this! _

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and Wheeljack opened his optics to look at it.  “There is no shame in grieving for those you have lost,” Phaseshot said, his tone soft and from the sound of it, he had risen to his feet.  “There is no shame in missing them or worrying about the wellbeing of those that remain. However, closing yourself off, keeping yourself from forming new bonds of friendship and family, will leave you truly alone when the time comes when you desperately need them.  Friends and family are meant to be there to pick you up when you have fallen down…to support you in your time of need. To deny yourself that support…will show you the true meaning of loneliness.”

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Phaseshot lean in close to his audio.  “I do not believe you wish that to your fate…to die alone…with no one to remember you.”

Wheeljack was trembling.  Damn him.  _ Damn him! _  He really knew what buttons to push! It was taking all his will to not break down into sobs right there.  He clenched his fists and crushed his optics closed once more as he fought to regain control of himself.

“There is another path to take, Wheeljack,” Phaseshot continued.  “But you need to open your heart and mind to see it.” The weight of the hand disappeared from his shoulder.

“What do ya mean?”  Wheeljack turned around to face him again, though a part of him really wanted this conversation to be over.

Phaseshot had moved away a bit, though he was still standing.  Well, as much as he could considering the Jackhammer was not built with bots of his height in mind.  

“You have a strong and caring soul, Wheeljack,” Phaseshot told him, his optics soft and compassionate.  “Do not be afraid to show that to others, even toward those you do not believe deserve it.”

He then stepped toward him, his winglets brushing against the ceiling of the ship.  Wheeljack hadn’t noticed before, but this guy had some kind of  _ presence _ around him.  Otherworldly. It was a bit intimidating.  The Wrecker took a subconscious half-step back.

For a long moment, Phaseshot was just staring at him.  Those golden optics seemed to be studying him, an expression of consideration on his face.  “Optics usually come as twins…,” he stated, his tone a bit ominous. A finger then pointed at one of his optics, his right one.  Wheeljack blinked on reflex. “One lost. Cannot be repaired, but can be replaced by another nearly as strong.”

The Wrecker blinked slowly at him, confused.  “You’re speakin’ in metaphors again...aren’t ya?” he asked.

Phaseshot smirked at him, then stepped away from him a few paces.  “Perhaps,” he replied cryptically. “I’ll leave you to ponder on what I’ve told you.”

Before Wheeljack could say anything, Phaseshot jumped back and phased through the ship walls.  “Dammit!” Wheeljack cursed as he rushed for the controls to check the sensors. Sure enough, Phaseshot was now flying next to the ship again.

“Couldn’t ya at least use the  _ door _ like  _ normal _ bots!?” Wheeljack commed him.

//Where would the fun be in that?\\\ Phaseshot replied cheekily.

“Ugh…”  Wheeljack banged his head on the steering console once before taking the ship off autopilot.

The nerve of that guy.  Leaving him an emotional wreck with a ton of questions in his processor he really didn’t want to ask, let alone find answers for.

Yep, that slagger was ranked very high on the ‘annoying’ list….

\--

####  _ Nemesis _

Dreadwing going against his orders was frustrating.  That he failed to kill any Autobots on top of that, was also frustrating, though expected in the Prime’s case:  Megatron  _ did _ warn him of the folly of going after him.  So what excuse was the seeker going to give him for his failure?

“There was a new Autobot with them,” Dreadwing was saying.  “One that called himself ‘Phaseshot’.”

Megatron found himself listening with increased interest as Dreadwing went into detail on this newcomer.  The Autobots now had someone that could not only become intangible, but seemed to be able to predict the future as well?  That didn’t bode well.

“That sounds like someone will have to prioritize even over the Prime,” Megatron stated.  “But carefully, if this ‘future prediction’ ability is true.”

“On that, I agree, my Lord,”  Dreadwing agreed. After a moment, he asked. ”If I may, my Lord.  Is there anything important I may be able to assist with?”

“A few, actually.” Megatron told him.  “Soundwave is currently researching an energy source the humans stumbled upon...one that will change the course of this war.  One we must gain control over before the Autobot’s do.”

“Science is not my field, but if there is anything needed to be obtained, I’ll gladly retrieve it.”

Megatron nodded, expecting such a response.  “That and the rebuilding of our space bridge are the major projects we have in progress.  There are two other significant matters you should know about. The first, Starscream, my Second-in-Command, has gone rogue.”

Dreadwing made an audible growl.  “Then I shall hunt him down and terminate him for his treachery!”

“No.” Megatron countered sternly.  “I have other plans for him. He is resourceful, but his resourcefulness can only take him so far without a T-Cog.”

“He lost his T-Cog?”  Dreadwing asked, his optics widening.

To that Megatron grinned cruelly.  “Courtesy of Airachnid, though she failed to bring it back with her.”

“Still, without his T-Cog, flight envy will eventually claim his sanity,” Dreadwing stated, sounding  _ slightly _ sympathetic.  He was a fellow seeker after all.

“That and his lack of mobility will eventually drive him back to me.  There are already signs of desperation. The Autobot’s recently attacked one of our mines...and there is evidence he pillaged the drone corpses for their fuel tanks soon after.”

“Barbaric….” Dreadwing looked disgusted.  “Could the two events be linked?”

Megatron paused and thought on that.  There was a report of Jetfire flying over head shortly before they attacked.  It is possible Starscream sold the mine’s location to the Autobots and the aerial bot was verifying the intel.  That was something he expected Starscream to do, yet it was unlike Optimus to attack such a heavily guarded mine.  The Prime wasn’t one to make such a risky move.

There was chance Starscream attempted to trick them by playing down how guarded the mine was, but Jetfire’s flyby would have proven that false.  Yet the Prime still chose to attack. Something else was going on, he could feel it in his tank, but he didn’t know what. The Prime’s odd behavior at the end of their duel only fueled that feeling.

“It is possible,” he finally replied.  “However we do not have the evidence to prove it.  Regardless, we now know the general area Starscream is lurking in.  So he should be easy to find should the need arise.”

“Understood, my Lord.  Anything else?”

“There is one more smaller matter, but no less annoying,” the Warlord admitted.  “Someone or thing has been stealing energon from our mines. Particularly crates of refined energon.  It’s not the Autobots...and it’s not Starscream.”

“Could it be the local vermin?” Dreadwing asked.

“The humans have no use for energon,” Megatron said dismissively.  “From the reports, the crates just  _ disappear _ ...and I know the humans do not have such technology to accomplish this.”

“Curious.  Is there a pattern to these thefts?”

“I have no looked that deeply into it, as the losses are miniscule compared to our total energon production.”

“Then allow me to look into this matter, my Lord.”  Dreadwing bowed. “A matter such as this, in my opinion, should not be ignored, lest the thief starts getting bolder and start stealing things of more importance.”

“As you wish,” Megatron said with a nod.  “Soundwave will be able to provide you with all the reports on the incidents.”

“I shall start immediately then.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wheeljack makes a discovery, while Arcee has a run in with humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chap today!

_Wilderness_

_Next day_  

He had to admit there was something liberating about just driving around randomly and checking the sights. 

Wheeljack remembered when he used to do this, both before and after they learned transformation, just exploring the planet, seeing what was there.  There was a certain appeal to seeing things on ground level first hand, rather than in a ship or through scanners.  Aside from his brief visit before, this was all new turf to him. 

He recalled his first visit, how near disastrous it was.  Damn crafty Starscream, replacing him with a doppelganger.  Unfortunately for that big mouthed seeker, Wheeljack knew how to get out of chains.  Physical or energon.  Smashing his fist into Starscream’s face had been so satisfying. 

_Now he’s turning a new leaf?  Yeah right._  

Wheeljack didn’t believe for a second Starscream was going straight.  Yet, he couldn’t quite shake that there was something familiar about him, something he couldn’t quite place.  It was his voice, he was sure of it.  Yet, Wheeljack learned a long time ago than to relay on a voice imprint for identification. 

_Silky…._  

_Ugh...no! Not now!_  

He swerved off road and transformed so he could physically shake his head.  Yet still the memories came.  Memories of darkness, a soft, smooth voice his only means of keeping his sanity.   A brief moment of passion before being rudely cut away.   A bot whose name he never learned...and very few hints on their appearance.  Someone he never got a chance to free from _them._  

_Why do you still haunt me?  It’s been literal Ages….._  

Wheeljack sighed and leaned against a tall rock he had stopped by.  At least he was out here by himself.  It meant no awkward questions.  No needing to retell that sordid story again.  Bulkhead would understand of course:  he was there when he told it the first time. 

Bulkhead.  His processor went back to his first visit to this planet.  He had told them he had a bit of wanderlust as his excuse for not staying.  There was more to it than that.  He left because he knew Bulkhead would be safe, unlike the rest of the Wreckers.  Wheeljack had wanted to try to save them. He failed.  That’s why he stayed this time, to _ensure_ the same fate didn’t happen to Bulkhead. 

Movement in the distance caught his optic.  Something tall and dark on a hill.  Then he blinked and it was gone.

_What the._  

Now curious, he headed toward that spot as quickly and quietly as he could.  When he reached it he had to flatten himself on the ground quickly.  He had stumbled upon a small active energon mine.  Servant class drones looked like they were piling up newly crated cubes of energon, getting them ready for transport.  There were only a handful of guards. 

_Nice pile of crates there._  From the number of crates, they may be finishing up here.  He was tempted to back off and give Team Prime a call to let them know about this little, lightly guarded bounty. 

He was just about to do that when he noticed something amiss. 

_Wait...did that pile shrink?_  Maybe it was his imagination, but he was _certain_ there was around thirty two crates the first time he looked.   He shook his head, maybe he counted wrong?  Maybe drones moved them while his focus was elsewhere? 

_What the!?_  

Wheeljack blinked a couple of times in shock.  As he was watching the pile, a crate just...disappeared.  Followed by two more.  A forth, he watched as it just started floating for a moment before disappearing as well. 

Then, barely thirty nanos later, four more crates ‘poofed’ in the same manner.  He waited a while to see if it happened again but it did not.  By then, the guards had noticed something amiss and was starting to search the area. 

_Time to for me to leave._   

O’Buckethead probably would blame their team for the theft anyway, but why stick around and give them more ‘evidence’ to that theory?  As he started to scoot back, something caught his optic to his left, something that _definitely_ wasn’t there when he got here. 

It was a short message, written in what loose dirt there was here. 

#Nice aft# 

_What.  The.  Frag._  

Wheeljack stared at the message, his mouth hanging open in shock for a few nanos before he shook himself out of it.  He didn’t mind the compliment, but he preferred _seeing_ the bot giving it thank-you-very-much.   

The guards were starting to head up the hill.  He quickly erased the message, then quickly went down the hill before transforming and driving away.  This was going to be an interesting story to tell the other’s. 

At the very least, due to the terminology and the language used, he knew the thief had to be cybertronian….

\-- 

_Elsewhere..._  

Arcee couldn’t stop thinking about the last story Starscream had told her.  The seeker had hinted at a rather big secret, she was sure of it.  It almost sounded like he could have stopped the war from happening, but didn’t. 

Now he regrets it. 

He was coming off as someone that didn’t like to see needless pain and suffering.  That flew in the face of what she knew of him prior to this current _situation_ they were in.  Which included the time both she and Cliffjumper were captured by him back before they joined Team Prime. 

Now he’s implying he isn’t like that.  That for some reason, he was acting differently than he should.  Arcee knew war could change bots, but this seems to be different.  She couldn’t quite place why.  Hopefully with time she will figure it out. 

Right now it was clear they were heading to another mine.  Granted, that was all Starscream could do in his current state.  The question, was whether this was an active or depleted one.  She knew Starscream needed refined energon, but really didn’t like what he needed to do to get it.  Yeah, he was taking it from drones, but _still_! 

But on the other hand, he couldn’t keep eating raw energon either.  That would kill him in the long run. 

_Damned if you do, damned if you don’t._  

“Something occurred to me,” Starscream suddenly spoke up, getting her attention.  She perked up her ears.  “I haven’t told you my name.” 

Oh she knew where this was going already. 

“I’m Starscream,” the seeker continued.  He was looking down at her as they walked, one hand briefly over his chest. 

~And you didn’t tell me before, because?~ she asked, not raising to the bait. 

He looked disappointed and she mentally smirked at that.  “Considering the communication barrier then I didn’t see the point,” he replied, looking forward again.   

Understandable reasoning.  What’s the point of knowing someone’s name if you couldn’t use it properly? 

“There is something else,” Starscream stated.  She felt her body tense.  “You’ve grown bigger since we’ve ‘met’.  Considering how much you eat that’s not surprising….” 

Arcee relaxed. He hadn’t figured her out yet. 

~Actually, what I eat simply gives me energy,~ she corrected.  ~Dragon growth is based on knowledge and experience.~ 

“Huh...interesting.  So in theory there is no limit on how big you can get?” 

~Correct.  My sire, for instance….~ She studied Starscream for a moment, doing some calculations from memory.  ~His wing shoulders came up to about your mid waist.~ 

“Scrap.”  From the look on the seeker’s face, he was doing his own calculations.  “Did he shoot lightning like you?” 

~No, his element was fire.~ 

“Well, you knew who to go to on a cold night then.” 

Arcee laughed a bit at that.  That was a good point.  Too bad Kaddrocrom was gone.  Physically, anyway.  She imagined he and Optimus would get along quite well if he had survived Airachnid’s attack. 

“Hmm...I see some of those prey animals you usually go after,” Starscream commented.  “Are you hungry?” 

~A bit,~ she admitted.  ~Where?~ 

“About a half mile to the west from here, just over that ridge.” 

~Darn you and your height advantage.~ 

“Well, from what you told me, eventually you’ll be taller than me.”  He had almost a playful smirk on  his face. 

_Depending on what my ‘growth’ limit is._  ~Once my wing is fully healed, my size won’t matter.~ She smirked right back at him. 

His smirk faded.  “If only my flight ability was so easily...fixed.” 

She felt guilty about rubbing that fact in now.  ~You miss flying…~ 

“I do…,” he admitted a longing look at the sky.  “I’ll be fine though. I’m not as prone to _flight envy_ as other seekers.” 

She found that curious. ~Why is that?~ 

To that he shrugged.  “I have my suspicions,” he replied.  “Go on then.  I’ll wait here.” 

Another mystery around this seeker.  Not one as critical as the other ones he hinted though.  At least she could take comfort he won’t go crazy due to not being able to fly anytime soon if he is correct on that. 

Arcee nodded then dashed off in the direction he indicated.  She quickly spotted the animals he told her about:  they were in a small tree clearing with a lot of bushes.  A good thing.  If it was a grassy meadow this would be more difficult due to her size.  It was also a good thing that deer were color blind, else her blue aft would be spotted before she got even close. 

She went into stalking mode before she left the treeline.  Staying low, her wings tight to her body, she used the bushes as cover to get closer and closer.  She had her sights on a bull deer, as with her increasing size she needed larger prey now.  Closer and closer she got, freezing occasionally when the animals looked her way, or appeared alarmed.  She was nearly in striking distance. 

Then something hit her in the aft. 

She yelped in shock, her concentration broken.   The deer were now alerted and they bolted.  Frustrated and hoping the seeker wasn’t playing some kind of prank on her, she turned to took behind her. 

No sign of Starscream, but there was something bright pink attached to her rear.  She reached back and yanked it out.  Arcee recognized it from some of the nature documentaries the kids sometimes watched. 

Tranquilizer dart. 

_Oh no…_  

Arcee  immediately turned and started running back toward where Starscream was waiting.  She didn’t get far before her legs gave out on her.  Scrap, her mind felt fuzzy now.  This must have been a pretty potent dose they gave her if it affect her this quickly! 

Around her she could see shapes starting to come toward her.  Humans in guilla suits.  Why didn’t she smell them?  Did they mask their scent somehow?  She growled a warning at them, spreading her wings, but they didn’t stop their progress toward her.   

It was getting hard to focus.  She couldn’t build up a charge to use a warning shot.  Arcee knew she probably only had a few more nanos before she lost consciousness.  There was only one thing she could do now. 

~ _STARSCREAM!~_  she mentally cried, praying to Primus he wasn’t out of range of telepathy. 

Then darkness claimed her. 

\-- 

_Blast it all, she still won’t tell me her name._  

Starscream sat on a ground with huff.  He was certain telling her his name would trigger an automatic telling of her own, but no.  She was smart enough not to fall for it.  Why was it so hard for her to trust him?  What will it take to get her to believe that he won’t harm her? 

He huffed a sigh.  This all gave weight to the likely hood she was more than what she appears.  She was definitely familiar with cybertronian, when there was no obvious reason why she would.  Unless that ‘remembering a way to learn it’ bit back at the lake had something to do with it.  No, that didn’t make sense:  she understood him from the outset.  Had to be something else.   

That and her voice.  Her coloration.  All hinted at something.  Poking and prodding at his processor, but he couldn’t quite piece it together.  It was frustrating!  He was missing something, he was sure of it. 

~ _STARSCREAM!~_  

There was such a desperate, panicked intensity to that call that it hurt, causing him to clasp his head for a moment.  Something bad had happened, that much was obvious. 

Starscream jumped to his feet, the energon in his lines starting flow faster with a mix of alarm and panic.  He immediately started running in the direction the dragon had gone.  A half mile was nothing to being his size, the meadow he saw the prey in now fully in sight. 

She was prone.  Not moving.  Small figures milling around her, throwing nets and ropes over her.  Humans. 

A growl emitted from his vocalizer, which turned into a screech as he burst from the tree line.  The humans jumped when he heard him, started screaming various cries of panic and a few curses when they saw him. 

“Get away from her!” he screamed reaching her quickly.  Starscream covered her with his body in a protective crouch, wings flared, swatting at any humans that were still too close.  “)You will not take my friend away from me you filthy creatures!(“  he added, his rage causing him to slip into Quintesson for a moment. 

One human seemed to grow a pair and aimed a weapon at him.  He gave it ‘just try it’ glare.  Another human forced the weapon down. 

“No you idiot!” she wa shouting.  “Fowler said to retreat if he shows up!” 

_Fowler?_  That name was familiar, but with the energon pounding through his head he couldn’t concentrate on anything other than protecting his friend.  Fortunately, the humans got the hint and quickly ran away.  He waited a klik before starting to rip off the nets and ropes.  She was completely unresponsive. 

“Hey…,” he said, shaking her gently.  “They are gone, you can stop pretending.”   Still no response.   His spark started to sink.  “Stop fooling around...wake up!”  His wings started to droop, panic setting in again.  “Please wake up….” 

“I-it’s just tranquilized….” a faint voice stated fearfully.   

Starscream’s wings snapped up and back, panic replaced by anger once more.  “Where are you?” he growled, switching to the humans’ language.  “Show yourself.” 

“H-here…”  A head poked out from underneath her right wing.  “Please don’t kill me...I’m just a vet!” 

He snarled, lifted the wing with one hand and snapped up the human with the other.  The tiny human cried out in fear.  “What did you do to her?” he hissed. 

“I-I told you!” the human wailed.  “Tranquilized!  It’s not lethal!  At least it shouldn’t be!” 

“‘Shouldn’t’?”  he echoed, his optics narrowed. 

“I’ve never had to tranq a creature like this before,” the human explained.  “Wasn’t even sure if it was mammal or reptile!” 

He doubted dragons classified as either, but he wasn’t about to tell the human that. 

“So I had to guess,” the man continued.  “Used a type used for large carnivores like a tiger...but had to account for the...much larger size...and that it’s a flyer.  A lot of math had to be used.” 

_Oh your poor inferior brain._  He resisted the temptation to roll is optics. 

“I do not care how badly your burned your mind trying to work this out,”  he snarled. “Undo it!” 

“C-can’t!” the man squeaked.  “The mix I used has no reversal agent!” 

Starscream’s growl was so deep his whole frame vibrated briefly.  The humans’ face was nearly white.  “Then how long will it last?” he demanded. 

“An hour...at least,” the man gulped.  “Likely more.  I was checking it’s vitals when you came crashing in...they seemed ‘normal’ for an animal of this size.  I think your pet will be fine….” 

“She is not a PET!” Starscream snapped.  Nano’s later, a foul odor hit his olfactory sensors.  The man had eliminated in his pants.  Disgusting.  He shifted his grip to the human’s shirt and held him away from himself like the disgusting thing it was. 

“R-right...my mis-mistake!” the human stammered.  “Um...you’ll want to keep it...her...cool. Tranqs can cause a rise in body heat and they have a harder time regulating body temperature.” 

“Noted.  Anything else?” 

“N-no...I don’t think so.”  After a couple of seconds he asked meekly.  “Can I go now?” 

“Fine….” Starscream dropped the man.  Fortunately for him, he hadn’t been holding him up very far.  So while the landing was a bit rough, the human was able to scramble to his feet and scurry away. 

Starscream waited until the human was out of sight before finishing the job of removing the bindings they had placed on the dragon.  Then, very carefully, lifted her up into his arms.  He took a moment to check his nav systems. 

There was a depleted mine close by.  Wasn’t his intended destination, but right now shelter was more important.  Destination decided, he set a fast pace for it. 

Fowler.  Now he remembered.  Fowler was the name of the human liason for the Autobots.  The humans knew about him...and seemed to know about her.  Did the Autobots have something to do with her?  This was a big clue, but he wasn’t sure how it fit with the rest of the pieces just yet. 

He’ll figure out it.  Starscream was sure of it…. 

\-- 

_R’aagun_  

“Mind telling me what the point of that was?”  Yarzon was looking at him with his tentacles folded in front of his chest. 

Skywarp soundlessly giggled and shrugged as he wing signed.  ]I was just stating a fact.[ 

The Quintesson groaned, rolling his optics.  “You’re a lucky he was too focused on the activities in the mine and didn’t hear you write that message.” 

]You worry to much,[ Skywarp scoffed.  ]I don’t think Wheeljack would have hurt me if he _did_ notice me.[ 

“You’re basing that assumption on a very brief interaction that was _ages_ ago,” Yarzon grumbled.  “Need I remind you that bare opposing insignia?”  The Quintesson pointed at the Decepticon insignia on his chest. 

Skywarp scowled and scratched at it.  He only wore it because Starscream did and he didn’t do so willingly.  At least initially.  Still, Yarzon had a point.  Wheeljack was not the type of bot to go easy on any member of a faction that earned his ire.   Or so he heard. 

He wasn’t like that.  Skywrap didn’t like _hating_ anyone.  Seemed like a pointless waste of energy.  He could count the number of bots he actually _hated_ on one hand.  Megatron, for what he did to Starscream and….and…. 

Flashwing. 

A shudder passed through his frame and the hugged himself, wings moving down.  Memories started to crop up he didn’t want to see right now, or ever again for that matter.   He forced them back down again before they overwhelmed him. 

“Skywarp?”  Yarzon sounded concerned. 

]I’m fine,[ Skywarp replied.  ]Just...had a...moment.[ 

Yarzon got his meaning.  “That bot is likely dead by now.,” he told him. 

]Unless I see his greyed corpse...that possibility will always haunt me.[ 

“Fair enough.”  After a pause, he stated.  “The energon you brought back should last us awhile, provided-” 

]I don’t have any attacks, I know,[  Skywarp interrupted, his expression dour.  ]I wish my pump would be fixed on a more ‘permanent’ basis….[ 

“So do I, Skywarp,” Yarzon was sighing. “So do I.  Someday...I’ll get it right.” 

Skywarp hoped that was sooner rather than later.  Without a properly functioning pump, there was no point restoring his wings.  Flying with a pump like this would mean instant attack.  Well, getting a new right optic would be a good idea after the pump fix.  After all, a little hard to fly _safely_ when you lack depth perception! 

Well, there _was_ an optic in that socket, but Yarzon hadn’t figured out how to calibrate it right so it would work for him.  You’d think using Thundercracker’s optic wouldn’t need much calibration!  Cause ya know.  Twin brother!? 

]I still think you should let me at least _try_ to raid the Nemesis…[ Skywarp signed.  ]Or perhaps approach the Autobots for assistance for my situation.[ 

Yarzon was already shaking his head.  “There’s no guarantinee Jetfire would be willing to vouch for you, Skywarp,” he pointed out.  “Too much time has passed since you parted ways.  It’s a risk we cannot take.  And you already know my answer on the Nemesis angle.” 

Skywarp rattled his faux wings in frustration.  ]Yarzon! We can’t stand idle on the sidelines forever![ he signed.  ]And the flight simulator won’t keep flight envy away forever either!  I told you this![ 

“I know, but we-” 

]Cannot rush into things. I know![  He wing rattled agan.  ]Primus!  You’re as indecisive as the fragging High Council that ultimately caused this war to begin with![  He turned sharply around and stormed off. 

All he heard from the Quintesson was a long sigh…. 

\-- 

_Autobot Base_  

It was a normal day at the base so far, as far as Phaseshot could tell.  Jetfire and Ratchet were having a chemistry discussion, Optimus and Bulkhead were out on patrol, while Bumblee was playing something called a ‘video game’ with the human kids. 

As for Phaseshot himself, he was testing his magic capabilities.  Within reason of course.  The worry of the Decepticons using an elnserzi for evil was always on his mind, but he had the sense it will be a while before they figure out how to _find_ one.  He knew they will need to be ready for when they do, however. 

“Hey, Phasey.” 

Phaseshot twitched at the nickname.  What is it with these people and using nicknames?  At least it wasn’t ‘Kaddy’.  “Yes, Miko, what is it?” he replied, looking down at the human. 

“Just, what can you do with magic?” she asked.  He noticed the other two humans were looking on with interest.  Ratchet and Jetfire had turned their interest to him as well. 

“So long as you have the proper knowledge, experience and materials, just about anything,” Phaseshot replied.  “After all, it was with magic that I saved Arcee’s life by temporarily changing her body into that of a dragon.” 

“Which turned out to be not so ‘temporary’,” Ratchet muttered. 

Phaseshot gave him a look.  “Her still having access to that form was an unexpected side effect,”  he admitted.  “Magic can be a fickle thing...even to experienced users such as myself.” 

“Can it be undone?  Removed?”  Ratchet asked. 

“Why would you want her to lose that?” Miko asked.  “It’s cool!  And I’m totally going to ask for a dragon ride once she comes back!”   

Ratchet was rolling his optics.  “I’m...just curious.” he replied. 

_Right, you can’t fool me, Medic._  He could tell Ratchet was still bothered by Arcee’s new ability and no doubt wanted to return her to her ‘natural’ state.   

“It _might_ be possible,” Phaseshot admitted. “However, the method used to give her the ability was complex...and thus it would only logical for it be at least equally complex to reverse it.  I currently lack the knowledge to do so, not that I wish to try in the first place.” 

The medic had taken a few steps toward him.  “Why not?”  Ratchet’s tone was tense. 

“Because she...and by extension you...need that forms abilities for this war,” Phaseshot replied, his optics narrowing. 

“ _I_ do not need it!”  Ratchet growled. 

“And what did I tell you about chasing things that are not meant to be yours?”  Phaseshot reminded him bluntly. 

Ratchet’s optics widened and stepped back, looking around nervously.  The rest of the occupants in the room slowly stopped what they were doing as his meaning dawned on them and were looking at him with a mix of emotions.  Shock mostly.  Jetfire though, Phaseshot could see a bit of despair and disbelief in his optics.  Like a small part of his world had just been shattered. 

Interesting.  He wasn’t certain before who Ratchet was really meant for, but now he had a better idea. 

“Wait, wait…,” Miko was saying, her hands in the air.  “Ratchet?  You have the hots for Arcee?” 

“Um….”  Ratchet didn’t respond, but his blush was enough of an answer. 

“Ratchet...and our powerful little two-wheeler?” Bumblebee was muttering with disbelief. 

“Ok…I _like_ Arcee… _a lot_ ,” Ratchet finally admitted, his face still blue.  “So _what!?_ What I feel doesn’t not have any bearing on what has happened to her!” 

“Save for the fact you are clearly repulsed what she has become,” Phaseshot commented.  “You wish to return her to the status quo.” 

“Of course I do!  What is wrong with that!?” 

“You fear change.” 

Ratchet sputtered a bit.  “Considering all the ‘change’ that has been happening lately has been almost all _bad_ can you _blame_ me!?” 

“Without change, things cannot progress, move forward.  Things would stagnate and decay without it.” 

“I just want _my_ Arcee back!”  Ratchet’s tone was desperate. 

“She never was...and never will be...yours to begin with,” he stated flatly. 

“You don’t know that!” 

At this, Phaseshot finally rose to his feet, his winglet’s flaring a bit.  “When I still had my previous physical form, I had the ability to read minds,” he explained.  “A skill I needed to better help Arcee adapt and learn about her new form.  I saw her memories, saw how she felt for you.” He leaned forward.  “I never saw _any_ indication that she felt anything more than friendship toward you.” 

The expressions that flashed over Ratchet’s face were many.   Shock.  Surprise.  Despair.  Disbelief.  And finally anger. 

“I don’t believe you!”  he snapped, his hands curling into fists. 

“Why am I not surprised?” Phaseshot sighed, rolling his optics.  “You are so set in your ways, so narrow sighted, that it takes something extreme for something to get through your head..” 

“That’s not true!” 

“Oh really?” Phaseshot sneered, arms folded across his chest.  “Why don’t we ask Arcee? Oh wait...that’s right...you chased her away because _you_ refused to consider the _possibility_ her story was _true._ ” 

The corner of Ratchet’s mouth was twitching, almost in sync with his left optic.  Then he sprung at him.  Phaseshot calmly spoke a couple of keywords in _Nerulais_ and Ratchet literally froze in place.  In mid-air. 

“Fool,”  Phaseshot admonished him.  “After you tried to throw a wrench at me before, you should know better than to try to attack me.” 

“Whoa...what did you do to him?” Raf asked. 

“A spell that is similar to the Immobilizer weapon that was previously used on your friends,”  Phaseshot explained, circling the medic.  “Froze him in place, but in motion as well as body.  He is fully aware, by the way.  Just can’t move.” 

“So his body is literally frozen in time,” Jetfire commented, having approached and was poking Ratchet in the arm.  “But not his processor.” 

“Exactly.” 

“Oh I am getting so many ideas on what we can do to him while he is like this!”  Miko was saying. 

“I am sure,” Phaseshot sighed. “However, I think his dignity has been damaged enough for today..” 

“Aw.” 

“Best to step away, Jetfire,” Phaseshot warned.  “When I release the spell he will move as if nothing happened.” 

“Got it,” Jetfire acknowledged, stepping away. 

Once everyone was clear, Phaseshot spoke the reversal spell.  As he stated, Ratchet started flying again, only this time his intended target wasn’t there anymore.  Instead, he slammed into Wheeljack, whom had _just_ transformed after arriving at the base.  The two smaller bots crashed onto the floor in a pile. 

“You meant to do that, didn’t you?”  Jetfire asked, a smirk on his face. 

“Maaaaybe,” Phaseshot chuckled. 

“What’s the big idea, Doc?” Wheeljack griped, shoving the medic off.  He then added with a smirk.  “I didn’t think ya liked me that way.”  


“A-absolutely not!”  Ratchet sputtered as he quickly got to his feet and backed off a bit before helping the Wrecker up.  “Phaseshot played a prank….” 

Phaseshot snorted.  “I was merely defending myself from an irrational attack,” he explained with a shrug. 

“Right...sounds like this...magic stuff was involved again,” Wheeljack grumbled, brushing himself off.  “Is Prime around? Got somethin’ he may be interested to hear.” 

“He’s out on patrol with Bulkhead,” Ratchet informed him.  “Should be back within a half-breem.” 

“Guess I’ll hang out a bit.”  The Wrecker folded his arms and looked at Phaseshot.  “So...any reason the doc wanted to murder your aft?” 

“Oh just a disagreement on a matter, nothing more,” Phaseshot replied casually.  He looked at Ratchet, whom looked away, nodding. 

“Sounds like a story I’d like to hear.”  Wheeljack was smirking.  “If it led to the old bot wanting bash your face in.” 

“Says a bot that is older than me,” Ratchet grumbled. 

“The difference, Doc, is that I don’t let it get to me.”  Wheeljack flashed him a grin.  “That and I obviously aged better than you did.” 

Ratchet looked like he was about to blow a gasket.  Then he threw his hands down, turned and stormed away.  “I’m going to check on our supplies,” he grumbled.  “Let me know when Optimus comes back.” 

“Sure thing.”  Once the medic had disappeared down the corridor and out of audioshot, Wheeljack asked. “So...it’s about Arcee, isn’t it?” 

Phaseshot raised a brow, both in amusement and mild surprise.  “You haven’t been here that long and you’ve already noticed?” 

The Wrecker chuckled, smirking once more.  “You don’t live as long as I do without learnin’ to keep note of the little details, as they could be important later,” he explained.  “That and the Prime filled me on what was goin’ on with her.” 

Phaseshot nodded in understanding.  As Wheeljack went to make himself comfortable for the wait, the former dragon reflected on his own observations on the Wrecker. 

_You have a lot of pain, Wheeljack.  There is someone you haven’t been able to let go.  An old regret...guilt...you haven’t been able to release.  One that will destroy you if something doesn’t change…._  

He hoped the ‘black’ figure in the prophecy he received would be that change he needs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arcee dodges a bullet and Team Prime learn of Wheeljacks encounter.

Wilderness 

Oh her head.

Arcee moaned softly as awareness returned to her.  She felt disoriented, like she was just coming out of medically induced stasis.  Well, technically she was, just the organic version of it.

It took several kliks for her head to clear enough for her to be able to focus her thoughts.  And clear the blurriness out of her eyes. She was in a cave, looked like a mined one. There was no bars, ropes or anything to suggest she was captured.  She sighed with relief.

_He heard me._

Arcee started to attempt to get to her feet, only for weight to gently push her back down again.

“Easy now,” the familiar and, for once, welcome, voice of Starscream told her.  “Best to let it wear off completely so you don’t stumble around like a bot on hi-grade.”

She looked in his direction.  The seeker was sitting to her right, looking down at her with those cherry colored optics, concern on his face.  It felt a bit odd to see that kind of expression on his face when it was toward someone other than himself.

~How long was I out?~ she asked, shifting herself so she was more comfortable.

“Almost a breem,” he replied.  “Or in this planet’s time units...over four hours.”

_Scrap._

~What about the humans?~  she asked, hoping Starscream didn’t hurt any of them.

“Chased off,” the seeker grumbled.  “Apparently they were under orders from someone named Fowler to capture you...but to back off if I showed up.  It appears the enemies of my old faction are interested in you for some reason.”

That he was no longer referring to himself a Con would have really piqued her interest if the rest of what he said wasn’t so shocking.  Her eyes widened at it, body stiffening in a subconscious reaction. It took a couple of nanos to force her body to relax, all while Starscream was watching her.  As much as she wanted to think about what he said about Fowler, she needed to deflect possible suspicion on herself first.

~You seem certain it had to do with your kind,~  she commented.

“One specifically said ‘Fowler said to retreat if he shows up’,” Starscream explained.  “Fowler is the name of the human liaison for a faction called the Autobots. A human I once captured and interrogated.”

Yeah, she remembered the rescue mission she went on for that.

“So you could say we are intimately familiar with each other,” he continued.  She noted there was no pride in his voice as he explained this. He almost looked ashamed of his actions then.  “With that in mind, it appears the Autobots have been keeping track of me...and noticed you hanging around. Perhaps they are concerned I may harm you:  they do have a soft spot for the natives of the world.” A sigh as he looked toward the cave entrance. “Not that I blame them. They likely don’t want another world to be destroyed in our senseless war.  Nor do I….”

Her ears pricked forward at this, not wanting to believe what she just heard.  Was she still under the effects of that tranquilizer? ~Yet you have fought in it,~ she stated carefully.

There was a long sigh as the seeker wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his head upon them.  “Not willingly. I was torn between two sides...so I remained neutral until I had no choice.”

Arcee tilted her head, finding this very interesting.  ~Staying neutral in any war I imagine is hard, especially if you have something both sides want,~  she commented. ~Yet you found both sides appealing in some way?~

“I am for equality for all,” Starscream stated, looking toward her.  “Something both sides claimed to be for, but both were flawed in some way.  Megatron, the leader of my old faction, the Decepticons, was hungry for power and control.  Believed in ‘peace through tyranny’, which not true peace...true equality, at all. On the other side, the Autobots, lead by Optimus Prime, seemed to believe in true peace and equality.  To allow the individual to decide for themselves their function, not their form. However, their cause was tainted when the those that supported the oppressive caste system joined their side when the war started.  And the Prime didn’t have the bearings to tell them to ‘frag off, you caused this’. I certainly would have….”

_Thus to him, the Autobots are just as bad as the Decepticons._  Arcee mentally sighed.  ~So how did you wind up with the Decepticons?~ she asked.

Starscream blinked and rubbed his face.  He looked confused. “I...don’t remember,” he muttered, sounding embarrassed.  “Not for certain...at least. I...I think I was blackmailed...but I cannot recall for certain.  I...I do know it was what caused Jetfire to abandon me….”

~How can you not remember for certain something that is so important?~  Arcee demanded, a bit hotly.

“A significant part of my life I can no longer recall at will,” he sighed.  “I was recently able to figure out it was all related to Trypticon Station, but that’s it.  Sometimes I get flashes...brief glimpses of that time, but I can never hold on to them. They disappear again like they had never happened.”

~Why do you think that is?~ It was a logical question to ask, though she partly knew the answer already due to Starscream and Megatron’s conversation she overheard in that mine.

“Megatron claimed I was in a serious accident.  One that required Shockwave’s aid to fix me.” Arcee felt a shudder through her body at that bot’s name, though thankfully Starscream wasn’t looking at her.  “However, I am starting to doubt that is true. Surely, if it was...simply touching dark energon wouldn’t start causing these flashes...as I didn’t have them before then.”

All this hinted at a disturbing possibility.  That the Starscream they had been fighting all this time wasn’t the _real_ Starscream.  Everything he was saying and her own observations from both before and now, seem to suggest he was changed, likely against his will.   A change that was now starting to become undone.

She knew he was a popular Air Commander before the war.  An influential and powerful one. Someone Megatron would definitely want under his thumb, no matter what the cost.

_And Shockwave is just the bot to find a way to change someone like that._   

Arcee found herself not liking this at all.  If she was correct, a terrible crime had been commented against him.  One akin to what the Quintessons were planning to do to them all, so long ago.  

If this wasn’t all an act, and she was starting to get the feeling it wasn’t, she felt complied to try to right this wrong.  To help him find himself again. Yet she felt hesitant.

There was still the chance this was all a trick and act.  That the moment she revealed who she really was, he would kill her on the spot.  No, she had to do this without revealing herself. Just in case.

“You’ve been quiet,” Starscream commented. “Is something wrong?”

~Just reflecting on everything you told me,~ she replied honestly.  ~It’s a lot to take in.~

‘I did kind of dump a lot on you.”  He was chuckling. “Oh, I almost forgot.”   To her surprise, he dragged over a deer corpse.  “I figured you would be quite hungry...so I managed to catch this.  Catching the fragging thing was harder than it looked...you make it look so easy!”

It took her a few nanos to get over her shock that he hunted for her.  ~Well you don’t exactly have a ‘stealthy’ body,~ she teased, smirking. ~Too tall...flashy….~

“Bah...on this planet perhaps!”  he scoffed, folding his arms. “I blend in fine on my home world.”

~I’m sure…,~  she snickered. Then she paused, considering.  Kaddrocrom’s words to her about this ringing in her mind.  Did she really trust him?

As she is right now,  so long as she doesn’t slip up and reveal her true nature, she felt she could.

~Starscream.~

“Hmmm?”  He was looking at her with a curious expression.

~My name is Ves’het….thank you for saving me.~

\--

She was definitely familiar with Fowler, Starscream was certain of that when he observed her reaction to the name.   That meant she had at least interacted with the human in the past. Beyond that though, it wasn’t enough to confirm his suspicions.  At least by itself.

_Are you a cybertronian?_  All the clues he had so far pointed in that direction.  Yet it seemed rather farfetched. How could one of his kind be possibly changed into an organic form like this?  He was getting the feeling there were elements to her backstory she left out, details that probably were left out on purpose.

Then it finally happened.  She told him her name. Ves’het.  Not even close to being cybertronian in form.  But that wasn’t the part that struck him the most.

It was how his own _spark_ reacted to it.  His spark lurched slightly for some reason upon hearing it, filling his frame briefly with an odd warmth.  What was that? He had never felt anything like that before.

“That’s…a beautiful name…,” he commented softly, rubbing his chest.  “It…calls to my spark.”

~Really?~  Ves’het looked just as puzzled as he did at the effect it had on him.

He simply nodded.

~Huh...never heard of that before.~

_Then we are both mutually confused._

Yet, he felt it wasn’t a bad thing.  For some reason, he was really certain of that….

\--

Autobot Base 

“You are certain you weren’t suffering a malfunction?” Ratchet was asking after Wheeljack finished his story.  “Considering I doubt you had a full physical in who knows how long.”

Wheeljack rolled his optics. “I’m runnin’ on all cylinders, Doc,” he told him.  “I know what I saw.”

“And you are certain you never actually _saw_ the one responsible?” Optimus was asking.

“Positive,”  the Wrecker replied.  “Nor did I hear them when they left a little cute message for me.”  From the number of curious looks now looking his way he had to say it.   “Apparently the bot doing the thievin’ saw me and liked my rear...wrote a note saying ‘nice aft’ next to me.  I erased it before I got outta there.”

“Jackie, you cad!”  Bulkhead laughed as he patted him hard on the back, making him lurch forward a bit.  “Didn’t think you had it in you!”

“Oh come on, Bulk,” Wheeljack laughed.  “I wasn’t exactly doin’ anythin’!”

“Other than being your usual kickaft self?”  Bulkhead was smirking at him.

“Better believe it.”  They fisted bumped.

“Three crates...that’s about his subspace limit….,”  Jetfire was muttering.

“Do you know who is doing this, Jetfire?” Optimus asked.

“I would if I wasn’t told he was dead,” the seeker sighed.  “What Wheeljack described, was within the capabilities of my old wingmate.  Skywarp.”

Wheeljack blinked.  He had heard that name before.  Probably during the war in passing though.

“He had the sigma teleportation,” Jetfire explained.  “But he also had a Quintesson grade cloaking device, though he couldn’t cloak other things with him.  He _can_ teleport small objects with him, up to about the size of an energon crate, actually.”

That did match what he saw.  The forth crate just floating there before disappearing.  “How long does it take for him to teleport?” he asked.

“For a safe one?  Five nanos,” Jetfire replied.

He ran a few calculations in his processor.  Not something he usually did unless it involved blowing something up _safely_ , admittedly.  “Sounds about right...takin’ into consideration he needed to unsubspace and stack the other crates then come back.”

“But like I said...he’s dead.  Can’t be him….” The look on Jetfire’s face told him he wished it wasn’t so.  Then the seeker looked at Ratchet. “Right? You are certain of this?”

“I can only say with absolute certainty his twin, Thundercracker, is deceased,” Ratchet replied grimly.

“Yeah…,” Bulkhead confirmed, Wheeljack noticing a faint shudder pass through his friend’s frame.  “We saw that poor bot get ripped to pieces by Sharkicons.”

Wheeljack felt a faint shudder pass through his own, remembering seeing those savages ‘handiwork’ himself many times during the Wrath war.

“So...Skywarp _could_ be alive….”  Jetfire looked hopeful, but then his face fell as if he remembered something.  “He’ll probably not be mentally stable though: he and Thundercracker had a strong twin bond.”

“And if he did survive, it’s clear he is not with the Decepticons here,” Ratchet pointed.  “We would have had a lot more trouble if he was.”

“Which makes it even less likely he’s actually alive,”  Jetfire sighed. “He would have stayed with Starscream, the only ‘family’ he has left, if at all possible.”

“Whether or not the thief is Skywarp, one thing is clear,” Optimus spoke up.  “This individual does not wish to be discovered by the Decepticons.”

“Or us for that matter,” Ratchet muttered.

“It may be more that the Cons control most of the known energon deposits,” Jetfire pointed.

“Yeah, it’s not like we have much worth stealing here,” Bulkhead chuckled.

“Well he could always steal Miko’s stereo equipment…,” Ratchet grumbled.

“I heard that!”  Miko shouted from in front of the TV.  “I’ll play my next practice session extra loud just for you!”

“Ugh….”  Ratchet rubbed his face.  “Phaseshot, do you have a ‘silencing’ spell?”

“I do,”  Phaseshot replied, but he was smirking.  “By why negate a punishment you walked into?”

Ratchet had both hands over his face in despair now.  Wheeljack chuckled a bit before asking.

“So, think there’s time to hit that mine before the Nemesis comes for a pick up?”

“Right now we are not in dire need of energon,” Optimus replied.  “And with that mine now on alert, it would be too risky.”

“Yeah, last time we attacked a mine on alert, Optimus nearly got wiped by Buckethead,”  Bulkhead stated. “If it wasn’t for Kaddy, we would have lost him.”

“Stop calling me that!”  Phaseshot growled, his winglets twitching with agitation.

“Why?  ‘Kaddy’ was kind of your name then,” the Wrecker reminded him.

“It was _Kaddrocrom_ , not _Kaddy_ ,” Phaseshot corrected.

“Eh...I like Kaddy better, easier to say.” Bulkhead shrugged.

“Call me that one more time...I dare you….,” Phaseshot snarled, by now standing over him.

Wheeljack could tell Phaseshot was really getting torqued over this.   On the one hand, he wanted to see this play out. Yet on the other...he wanted to tell Bulkhead it would be a good idea to not push his luck.  

The former won out, if only because he was fairly certain Phaseshot wouldn’t _harm_ Bulkhead.

“Ha ha, what ya gonna do to me if I do?”  Bulkhead dared. “Turn me into a scraplet?”  He then leaned forward and added with a smirk.  “Kaddy.”

“Nothing so...costly….,” Phaseshot sneered, but then he grinned as he said _something_ Wheeljack couldn’t understand.

Bulkhead was blinking, looking confused.  “OK I don’t feel...any...different….” He must have realized it the same time everyone else did.  His voice, usually a deep bass, was now high pitched. The Wrecker’s optics widened as he covered his mouth.

“Whoa...you sound like a chipmunk, Bulk!” Miko laughed.

“Please tell me that is not a permanent change…,” Ratchet groaned.

Phaseshot was shaking his head.  “Cantrips like that only last a short while.  An hour at most.”

“Well, Bulk, looks like to spare your dignity you’ll need to take a Vow of Silence until it wears off,”  Wheeljack teased. Bulkhead glared at him.

“You totally need to do that to Megatron, Phaseshot!” Jetfire was laughing.  “None of his troops would take him seriously if he was talking like that!”

“I’ll consider it,” Phaseshot admitted, smirking.

“I think I’ll delete that nickname from my processor…,” Bumblebee was muttering.  “I don’t want to find out if he can change my color scheme to pink and purple….”

“I can.”  The former dragon’s smirk was bigger now.

“Scrap.”

\--

Wilderness 

After she had eaten the deer Starscream caught for her, Arcee checked the cave for energon.  She was able to find a couple of small crystals to tie him over until they reached the their next destination.  He had gone into recharge after eating them, which either indicated that he was lower on fuel than she thought, or he trusted her that much.

Trust.  She never thought she would trust him.  Arcee could almost safely say she trusted Starscream more than Ratchet at this point.  If only because she was more certain on what the seeker would do if he found out her true identity.  Almost. She wasn’t sure anymore, if her suspicions on what was done to him were correct.

It brought to mind what he told her.  That Fowler ordered her capture. What would he want with a dragon?  Unless….

_Did a human camera record me at some point?_  Yet, the Autobots wouldn’t be interested in her just by seeing her, unless they saw the resemblance.  Or….

She thought back, recalling that near disastrous encounter with the rancher the night she first shifted.  Her memory was fuzzy, due to how disoriented she was, but...she believed she saw a tiny red light on the building.  One that usually indicated a camera recording.

_Scrap._  That meant there was a good chance her shifting was caught on camera and Fowler _definitely_ would have been interested in that.  No doubt showed the Autobots as well. She found herself wondering what the look on Ratchet’s face was when he watched it.

Other things started to click in place.  Jetfire’s fly by was likely him searching for her.  If he did spot her, he likely spotted Starscream too.  What would the team think of her hanging with him? Would they think she had turned traitor?  Or, perhaps, think she was in danger by staying with him? The latter seemed more likely considering what happened today.

They knew Starscream was rogue.  After all, she told them what happened in that cave between him and Megatron.  Optimus, she knew, would want to try to bring him to their side. She doubted he would accept such an offer, at least right now.   Then there was the problem with Ratchet still. What would he do to her once she was back at base? Considering his insistence on removing the gemstone, it was probable that he would try to ‘fix’ it so she could never shift again.

_Frag that._

Intended or not, this form was a gift and she planned on using it’s capabilities to the fullest to help with this war.  She was certain Optimus would back her up on that. Miko too.

So what now?

If he hasn’t already, Fowler will soon tell the Autobots what happened.  Will they continue to try to ‘rescue’ her? Likely, as they haven’t seen the Starscream she has...and dragon-hating humans were still a threat.  For the later though, Starscream is an effective deterrent, so far.

Arcee looked at her wing, checking the healing progress.  The infection was gone and it looked to be a third mended already.  It’s been...six earth cycles? So twelve more earth cycles at most until she’s able to shift again.

Twelve days...to learn everything she can from Starscream...and help him if she can.  After that?

She didn’t know.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skywarp gets into a bit of a situation....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently the site glitched out and didn't actually 'bump' this fic to the latest. So...reposting it.

Archway National Park

The wind brushed against what was left of his wings, Skywarp relishing the feeling.  It helped drive away the flight envy a bit, in some ways better than the simulator. Largely because it was  _real_.

Perhaps that was part of his problem:  he knew he experienced in the simulator wasn’t real.  Thus, the effectiveness of it would naturally start to degrade.  He hadn’t told Yarzon yet, not directly at least, but that effectiveness had been degrading faster lately.  So he had been coming down to the surface more and more lately to try to counter that.

However, he knew it was only a matter of time before the effectiveness of  _that_ would start to decrease as well.  In honesty, it was a surprise he lasted this long without flight envy completely driving him insane.  He was going to need either something  _new_ to help keep it at bay, or finally get his wings back.

The latter won’t happen until his fuel pump is a hundred percent fixed first though.

Skywarp sighed heavily, looking at the stars above, then across the landscape.  He was currently perched on top of a large sandstone arch. One Yarzon said was formed naturally by water erosion.  Skywarp had trouble understanding how something like water could wear down rock, but he wasn’t smart like Yarzon was.  

He still found it fascinating though.  Cybertron didn’t have features like this, at least ones formed naturally from what he understood.  The Sonic Canyons and it’s air geysers were probably the only ‘true’ natural phenomena the planet had.  Left, that is. Damn war.

_Why didn’t you at least try?_

Many times he and Thundercracker had tried to convince Starscream to speak to the Council when things looked like it would turn to war.  Skywarp knew that doing so would require: revealing his past...the identity he once had. He didn’t quite understand why, but perhaps his Commander feared losing what he had built up for himself.  Feared being forced back into the life he once had.

_But was it worth losing pretty much everything anyway?_

Skywarp sighed once more.  He had no way of knowing if Starscream regretted his inaction now.  He had changed so much, so drastically, not long after Jetfire left.  Like all his negative traits had become heightened, more prominent. Especially paranoia.  Then...the accident and he suddenly became a lot more apathetic. Less humble. More prone to violence as well.

_What did they do to you while fixing you?_

He doubted even Starscream knew.

Sounds of gunfire behind him caught his attention.   Skywarp stood and turned, wondering what was going on.  His optic widened when he saw the familiar blue flashes of an Autobot blaster.  

_No…._

He squinted his optic, trying to make things out more clearly in the darkness of the night.  The flashes of the blaster shots eventually enabled him to make out one of the combatants.

It was the Jackhammer and it was in a dogfight with something else.  From the sounds it was just one opponent, so not likely a vehicon. Not only did those things only attack in packs, but Wheeljack was surely skilled enough to take out one by itself.  And quickly. This fight was taking too long. He only saw the barest of glimpses of the opponent. Looked like a human fighter craft, but he doubted it was a human pilot.

The fight was drawing closer to him and he activated his cloaking device.  Humans wouldn’t have been able to see his dark colored aft against the night sky, but Cybertronians would.  He could see the Jackhammer more clearly now at this distance, but the other one was too dark colored to see clearly.  That left only one possibility for the opponent.

Dreadwing.

Skywarp had to admit Wheeljack was doing a good job in this fight.  While he knew Dreadwing only by reputation, he knew he was an Air Commander, thus a skilled, competent flier.  A lesser bot would have been shot down by the Wrecker by now.

_And TC always claimed grounders don’t know how to be graceful in flight._

Wheeljack’s flying was certainly  _graceful_ in his humble opinion.  Then again, he was never a framest like Thundercracker tended to be.

_TC…._

Thinking about his dead twin made his spark hurt.  He clenched at his chest, wincing, wondering if this pain would ever go away.  Skywarp remembered the moment Thundercracked died. That feeling of something ‘snapping’ in his spark, a presence that had always been there suddenly gone.  He remembered screaming, destroying what was left of his vocalizer in the process, rendering himself mute.

Skywarp didn’t remember much of the cycles immediately after, other than wanting to die.  He was practically scrap anyway at that time, as Yarzon hadn’t be able to do much repair work yet.  Yarzon had eventually been able to give him a new purpose, a new reason to live.

His processor snapped back to the present.  It became apparent to him that the sound of battle was a lot closer.   _Very_ close in fact.  His attention now fully back on his surroundings, he saw that Wheeljack had Dreadwing on the run…

...And Dreadwing was heading right for him!

_Scrap!_  He ducked just in time to avoid being hit, but the air wake threw him off balance.  Skywarp flailed, slipped and fell off the arch.

For a brief nano, he was certain he was going to die.  Or at the very least be very badly damaged when he hit the ground.  He was surprised when he ‘landed’ sooner than expected. And it didn’t feel like rock or dirt.

Skywarp felt sensations he hadn’t felt for real since he still had his wings.  The sensation of flying. A quick look around told him why.

He had landed on the Jackhammer.

\--

_Oh what now?_

Wheeljack only afforded a quick glance up and back where heard a rather large  _thud._.  Something had landed on top of the Jackhammer.  Probably a rock that got knocked off from that arch he had to fly under.  Whatever it was he can check on later, if it was still there when he was done with Dreadwing.

Blasted Con.  He was just doing some scouting when the fragging seeker decided he wanted to pick a fight with him.  Seemed Dreadwing wasn’t expecting him to be able to stand his ground, so-to-speak, with the Jackhammer and was now on the run.  Probably had some explosive tricks up his armor, like last time.

Dreadwing took a sudden right turn.  Wheeljack turned right with him, but felt the ship lurch as his ‘passenger’ hit the support strut for the right minor vertical stabilizer.  Then the seeker turned sharply left and, whatever it was, hit the left support strut. He heard the thing tumble and scratch the hull just before that.

OK, that was getting annoying.  Time to get rid of it. He did a quick roll….

\--

At first Skywarp was elated.  He was flying! Not under his own power...nor under his control, sure, but he was flying!  He could feel the creeping tendrils of flight envy start to fade away faster than it ever had with the simulator.

His elation then turned to terror when he was suddenly reminded that he was an unexpected, and unwanted, passenger.  The Jackhammer had turned right, causing him to lose his footing and slam into the support strut on that side. Nanos later, he was sent tumbling left as he frantically tried to grab onto to something.

Now it was doing a roll….

There was only one thing he could do.  He wrapped his arms around the left support strut and hung on for dear life.

Skywarp felt his shoulders nearly get yanked out of their socket from the force.  Somehow he managed to hold on. Even when he was slammed into the side of the ship.

_Ooooow…Yarzon is NOT going to believe me when I tell him how I got this damage…._

That is if he survived this.  Teleporting was not an option...not at these speeds and unpredictable motions.  Going inside wasn’t a likely option either: he doubted Wheeljack was admitting passengers at the moment.  Sure he could insta-teleport inside...but _last_ time he did that he ended up in the state he is in now.  No thanks!

He knew he would have a better chance if he stayed on  _top_ of the ship.  So first chance he got he started to climb back up.  Just as he was on top of the support strut, the Jackhammer went into a loop.  Once again he was hanging on for dear life….

\--

Wheeljack thought he had gotten rid of it, but then he heard ‘something’ start to climb up the side.

_Pit!  It’s a living thing!?_   

That complicated things.  He had no idea who or what it was.  The Jackhammer hadn’t picked up any other lifeforms that he noticed.  Then again, he was busy chasing Dreadwing so perhaps he missed something?

Speak of which, where was Dreadwing?  Then his sensors picked him up. On his aft!

_Scrap!_  Wheeljack pulled the Jackhammer into a vertical loop, though he noticed it dragged slightly on the left side.  His passenger must have attached itself to the left minor vertical stabilizer support strut.

_Stay there then!_  He could compensate for it easier if it wasn’t moving around.  Damn it he lost Dreadwing again.

There was a clanging sound on the left side of the hull.  Someone...knocking? A warning? He turned the Jackhammer in that direction.  There was Dreadwing, coming straight at him now.

_No you don’t!_  He fired the ship’s blasters, forcing the seeker to veer away.  He started to pursue once more.

At the very least, his ‘passenger’ seemed to just want to  _survive_ this mess.

\--

It had dawned on Skywarp his added weight was being a distraction and hinderance, so he had thought to try to even the odds at least.  Thankfully, Wheeljack ‘got’ what his knocking was for and reacted appropriately. Now the Jackhammer was chasing Dreadwing again.

As much as he wanted to move to the middle, to center his weight on the ship, the sides were the only places that had something to hold on to!  If he had his wings, he would spread them in hopes the added lift would counder his weight. Then again, if he had his wings, he wouldn’t  _be_ in this situation in the first place!

Dreadwing was leading them through some narrow passages, trying to trick Wheeljack into crashing no doubt.  Some of those rocks came a bit too close to him for comfort! Fortunately, Wheeljack knew what he was doing!

Then, Dreadwing just...disappeared.  They passed around a large mesa and he just wasn’t there.  The Jackhammer slowed down at that point, carefully searching.

Skywarp scanned the skies himself, trying to find the seeker.   Unfortunately, missing his right optic ment he was blind on that side...and that was the side Dreadwing came in.  Skywarp only knew it when the ship shifted in that direction as the larger seeker landed on top in robot form.

_Scrap._  What should he do?

He got his answer when Dreadwing simply planted a bomb on the Jackhammer’s hull and started sprinting toward the bow.  Skywarp reacted on instinct. He leapt off the support strut into the hull, pulled off the bomb, then threw it at Dreadwing’s retreating back.  Direct hit.  It attached to the seeker's back.

Dreadwing immediately stopped and pulled it off his back, a befuddled look on his face.  As he was turning to see who threw it, Skywarp was already charging. The smaller seeker leapt up and kicked Dreadwing in the chest with both feet.  Dreadwing was sent flying back, just missing the cockpit on the way down.

Wheeljack was on the ball.  Just as Dreadwing recovered and transformed, the Jackhammer fired.  Dreadwing was suddenly missing most of his left wing. Nanos later, a ground bridge portal appeared.

_That’s your eviction notice!_  Skywarp soundlessly shouted, making rude gestures as Dreadwing disappeared into the portal.  Oh if only he had a functioning vocalizer right now: the whole area would be hearing his laughter!  He hadn’t had this much _excitement_ in vorns!

Then he was suddenly reminded  _why_ he avoided it.

His frame suddenly felt weak and pain shot through his chest.  Skywarp gasped as he clenched at where his fuel pump resided, going down to his knees.  He could see his cloaking field start to fizzle as it’s source of power fluctuated. Dark spots started to appear in his vision.

Skywarp intaked heavily, hoping this was a minor attack.  He could recover from that. A major? He would likely die unless Wheeljack got him help in time.  If Wheeljack decided to help him.

As he collapsed onto the hull fully, he was dimly aware of the Jackhammer moving into land on top of one of the mesas.

That was the last thing he was aware of….

\--

Wheeljack didn’t know what the Pit just happened, but it sure as frag worked in his favor.  He didn’t get the kill shot on Dreadwing, but forcing him to retreat via ground bridge was almost as satisfying.

_Seems my little passenger has some skills._  He chuckled a bit as he steered the Jackhammer toward one of the larger mesas to land.  Wheeljack wanted to meet his unexpected passenger and thank them for the assist.

Speaking of which, from the sound he just heard above, it appears his passenger has collapsed.  Did Dreadwing manage to hurt them?

_Scrap._  Wheeljack finished the landing as quickly as possible without jostling his passenger uptop.  Then he quickly climbed up the ladder to the dorsal access hatch and climbed out.

Only...to see nothing?

_Wait.  There._  Near the cockpit, there was a large distortion.  It kept flickering in and out. Occasionally he would see a glimpse of a dark color.  

“Hey...are ya alright?” he asked, carefully approaching the prone, mostly unseen figure.  No response. That can’t be good.

While he couldn’t make out any real details, this individual was definitely taller than him.  Kneeling down, he carefully reached out and down. He touched something and after feeling a bit he figured out it was an arm: felt like a fellow cybertronian.  Wheeljack followed it up to a shoulder and shortly after he found the head. Definitely Cybertronian.

From there, he was able to find a line he could feel a pulse with.  He didn’t like what he was feeling: an erratic pulse. Wheeljack was no medic, but he was fairly sure there was something wrong with this bot’s fuel pump.  

Just as he started to reach up to comm base for Ratchet, the bot stirred….

\--

Skywarp slowly came too.  How long was he out? Checking his chronometer, about a klik or so.  Scrap that was long enough for-

“Ya alright?”

He bolted upright and back into a sitting position.  Frag! Wheeljack was  _right there!_   

“Easy!” Wheeljack was saying, his hands up in a calming gesture.  “I’m not gonna hurt ya.”

_Scrap...am I decloaked?_  He checked himself.  Frag. The mod was still active, but it was on the fritz, which meant Wheeljack could see him  _somewhat_.  It will need to be turned off and on again to reset it, but he dare not to with Wheeljack looking right at him.

“Did Dreadwing hurt ya?” The Wrecker was reaching toward him.

_No no no…_  Skywarp knew Wheeljack likely meant what he said by not wanting to hurt him, but he was compromised as is.   He scooted back sharply, only to feel the pole on his right main wing stub slip into something...then promptly get jammed there.

The sudden restriction of movement flipped a switch in his processor.  A bad one. He flashed back to that time in that dungeon. An oily voice whispering things in his audio as thin fingers touched him all over.

He soundlessly screamed.  Started to thrash, trying to free himself.

“Whoa...calm down!  I won’t hurt you!”

He didn’t see Wheeljack anymore.  He saw Flashwing reaching for his precious wings.  To pet them. To make him feel things he didn’t want.

With a strong lurch, he tore himself free, feeling pain in his right main wing as part of it tore away.  It can be replaced! Need to get away!

“Wait!”

Flashwing was trying to grab him.  He kicked him, knocking him back, before scrambling to his feet and running.

“Stop!”

He jumped down, only to stumble a bit when he landed.  His center of balance was off for some reason. Just as he fully regained his balance, a pair of arms grabbed him…

\--

There was definitely more wrong with this bot than it appeared.   They were having a panic attack and if he didn’t calm them down will have another pump attack for sure.  At the moment they had frozen in place the moment he had grabbed them and he could feel the tension in their frame.

“Easy...you’re safe,” he told them in a calm soft tone.  “I’m not goin’ to hurt ya.”

Wheeljack started to try rubbing the frame he was holding, but then he recognized  _where_ he was holding them.

The bot’s aft was right at his chest, which meant his arms were wrapped around their hips and thighs.  Sensitive areas for many bots. He was certain this bot had been through some kind of trauma: who in this war hasn’t?   However, he didn’t know  _what_ kind of trauma and it dawned on him that he could be making things worse.

He was about to let go when he felt something, three somethings, touch his back.  One at his left shoulder and two on either side of the nape of his neck. Considering the height difference and how slender of a frame it appeared to have, only one frame type had winglets that long.

Seeker.

He knew seekers can highly sensitive bots both physically and emotionally.   Considering it appeared to be stuck on his ship until now and that he was only feeling three wings, told him this bot couldn’t fly.  Which meant it was likely being affected by flight envy. Great. Just great.

“I’m goin’ to let ya go,” he told it, keeping his tone gentle and soft.  “Please don’t bolt...I just want to help you.”

There was no indication the seeker heard him.  Frag, the only sound it was making was the sound of rapid intaking.  Still, he slowly let go, then backed away a bit.

The seeker, as far as he could tell, just stood there.  At least for a moment. Then they did bolt, but not far.  Only far enough to get a little more distance away from him before sitting on the ground.  Wheeljack sat down as well, to show he wasn’t a threat.

Silence dominated the next few kliks.   At this distance and with it still being dark out, it was very hard to see what the seeker was doing.  That they were still  _somewhat_ cloaked didn’t help any.

Then he saw something more concrete.  They had unsubspaced an energon cube, though the glowing liquid did little to help him actually  _see_ the seeker any better.  He watched as the cubes contents disappeared into thin air, but he knew better.  That the seeker felt safe enough to consume energon in front of him was a good sign.

“Feelin’ better?” he asked, tilting his head.

The other bot didn’t respond, but he did think he saw a slight flinch in the badly cloaked frame. Like he had startled them.  Then they took out a second cube, but instead of consuming it, seemed to pause in consideration, then set it on the ground. Something else came out of it’s subspace, looked like datapad.

_What are they doing?_  Wheeljack squinted, trying to make out anything that would tell him what they were up too.  Were they writing something?

After a couple of kliks, the seeker set the pad down on the ground, set the fresh cube on top of it, then pushed it toward him.  

“I’m fine, thanks,” Wheeljack told them.  “I think you need it more than me.”

The pad and cube was pushed even closer to him:  the seeker was  _insisting_ he take it.

“Alright, if you insist,” Wheeljack chuckled before reach out to pull it toward him.  He took the cube off the pad, then noticed the pad had a message on it. With his other hand, he picked it up to read it.

#Sorry for nearly fragging up your fight with Dumbwing, Wheeljack.  Didn’t mean to drop in on it. I’d give you hi-grade, but I only have medical grade on me (not that I’m allowed to have hi-grade anyway, bah!).

Oh...nice ship.  Dreadwing’s is nicer…

...after you blew it up.

See ya!#

Wheeljack immediately snapped his head back after reading that last line.  Sure enough, there wasn’t even a  _hint_ of the seeker there now.  He stood up and walked over there, checking the area for tracks and other signs.  The only tracks were the ones the seeker made before he sat down here. There was  _nothing_ leading away.

Then he reached down and attempted to see if they were still there.  To see if they had fixed their cloaking device while he was distracted.  Nothing.

_How?_

Several things hit him at once.

This bot knew who he was and knew he shot down the Skyclaw.  They not only had cloaking tech, but teleportation: how else could they leave this spot without any trace?  Plus he suspected this was likely the same bot he ‘witnessed’ stealing crates at the mine.

_Pit...the others are gonna love this story…._

In Wheeljack’s processor, it was looking more and more like this mystery bot  _was_ Skywarp….


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word of Skywarp's possible continued existence gets around....

R'aagun 

“Skywarp….”  Yarzon was looking at him with wide optics at his condition.  “What, in Quintessa’s name, happened to you?”

Skywarp sighed, took out a spare datapad and quickly wrote.  #Short and simple version: I got caught in the middle of a battle between the Jackhammer and Dreadwing.#

Now the Quintesson’s mouth was hanging open.  “Kazak! Were you detected?”

#Kind of...considering I wound up on _top_ of the Jackhammer.#  Skywarp replied. #And...I had a minor pump attack after I helped him drive Dreadwing away….#

Yarzon had stiffened.  “Wheeljack saw you?” His tone was tense.

#Yes and no.  I was cloaked...but when I had the attack it started glitching out.  So he… _kind of_ saw me….#  He flared his ‘wings’, showing the Quint why he wasn’t using wing language: he was missing one of his extensions.  #And I ended up leaving something behind before I finally was able to get away. #

Yarzon made a long moaning sigh.  “After I check your pump, you’ll have to tell me the full story.”

Skywarp wasn’t looking forward to this.  He was certain Yarzon would react negatively to it….

\--

Autobot Base 

//OK, I seriously need you to hire you to predict the outcome of the next Superbowl...or Presidential Election….\\\ Fowler was saying.  

Ratchet saw Phaseshot was rolling his optics.

“My ability is not something I have control over,” Phaseshot sighed.  “The All shows me what it wants me to see.”

//Who is this ‘All’?\\\

“God.”  

Guess he didn’t feel like doing a detailed explanation this time.

The human was blinking rapidly.  //OK, Jesus, whatever you say.\\\

Phaseshot did another optic roll.

“I am assuming,”  Optimus interjected, likely in hopes to prevent a religious debate.  “That your attempt to capture Arcee was a failure.”

//Big time,\\\ Fowler sighed.  //What Jesus here said happened...and I got the video to prove it.  Give me a moment and I’ll shoot it your way.\\\

“This is going to be interesting I think,” Jetfire was muttering while they waited.

“What?  You think seeing that seeker slaughter a bunch of humans is ‘interesting’?” Ratchet asked pointedly.

“If that was the case, I would believe Agent Fowler’s disposition would be far different,”  Optimus pointed out.

A far point.

“Hey guys!”  Wheeljack’s voice came from the entrance.  The Wrecker was already in robot form, holding a dark colored long pole in one hand.  “I think you’ll like what I got to tell ya, especially you, Jetfire.”

Jetfire was quirking an optic ridge in interest.

“Unfortunately, it will have to wait, Wheeljack, “ Optimus told him.  “Agent Fowler has an update for us on Arcee.”

“No problem, Commander, I can wait,” the Wrecker commented as he joined the rest of the group.

Just then, their comm console beeped that it received a file.  Ratchet reached over to open it. A nano later, the video started playing.

The view was of a bushy meadow.  A herd of deer could just be seen feeding among some of them.   Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Ratchet’s optics stayed glued to the view screen, hoping to at least get a _glimpse_ of her.

He would not be disappointed.

A few nanos into the playback, a large shape was briefly seen entering the meadow, quickly disappearing behind one of the larger bushes.  There was nothing for a painstakingly long klik. Then Arcee came into full view of the camera.

_By the Allspark._  Ratchet was aware his mouth was hanging open, but he didn’t care.  This wasn’t a grainy night time video like the first time. Or a distant, blurry cellphone footage like the second.  This was crisp, clear and in full color. He could see every detail on Arcee’s dragon form. Every scale and muscle movement as she stalked her prey.  

She looked...magnificent.

“So that’s a dragon?”  Wheeljack was asking, breaking him out is spell.

“That’s _Arcee,_ ”  Ratchet grumbled.

“I figured that, Doc.  Pretty big. Where they all that big?”  The Wrecker was looking at Phaseshot.

“That and bigger,” Phaseshot replied.  “I was easily twice, perhaps three times, that size in my previous form.”  After a pause he added. “She has grown since the first video.”

“How big could ya guys get?”

“In theory there is no limit,” the former dragon replied.  “Unfortunately, my kind didn’t exist long enough to find out for certain.  The largest I saw was about twenty-five feet at the wing shoulder.”

Wheeljack made a whistle in awe.  Ratchet had to admit that was a pretty impressive size for an organic.  Especially a flying one.

There was a yelp in the video, turning all attention back to the video.

Arcee was standing up straight, looking back at her aft.  They watched as she pulled something of and stared at it for a nano before dropping it and starting to bolt back in the direction she came from.  She didn’t make it far: her legs apparently gave out on her and she collapsed.

_They must have used some kind of fast acting sedative._  Ratchet hoped they calculated the dose right.  He had seen too many trainees in his time misjudge and nearly kill a patient.

_“It’s down!  Move in!”_  a human voice called out.  The camera, which had only moved only enough to keep Arcee in frame before, now was moving toward her prone form.  Moving in from other areas close by were more humans, dressed in gilla suits. Arcee was still somewhat conscious: they heard her growl in warning, her wings spreading in a threat display.  She wasn’t conscious for long though. Those spread wings started drooping, then dropped to the ground. By then the humans were right next to her.

_“What a fascinating beast!”_  someone was saying.  The cameraman turned toward him, revealing a man in a simple camouflage uniform.   _“I never thought they could have existed, but here I am looking right at one!”_

_“Can the ‘Steve Irwin’ routine, Doc,”_ the cameraman commented.   _“We don’t know how long until it’s ‘guardian’ shows up.  Is it stable?”_

There was a moment of silence as the man checked Arcee’s vitals.  “ _As far as I can tell, yes,”_ he replied.  “ _It’s pulse and breathing are steady, no irregularities.”_

_“Good.  Let’s start securing it for transport.”_

Around her they watched them start unfolding and uncoiling various nets and ropes.  The doctor called the cameraman over, directing him to the tear in her right wing. No doubt to document any injuries.

“That’s a pretty big tear,” Ratchet commented.  “No wonder she couldn’t fly.”

“But it is healing quickly, see where the scar tissue is?” Phaseshot pointed out.  “I’d say between six and twelve days she will be able to fly again.”

_That long being forced to stay in Starscream’s company…._  Ratchet wondered how much longer Arcee will be able to keep the seeker fooled.

Speaking of Starscream….

A loud screech suddenly erupted, making every human, and a few watching bots, jump.  Jetfire, Ratchet noticed, had tensed, his wings up high and alert, ready to fight. He surmised it was a sub-conscious reaction to hearing his former commander make that call.

_“Oh shit he’s here!”_ someone called out.  The camera angle moved up, bringing Starscream into frame.  He looked _livid._

“Get away from her!”  the seeker was screaming.  The cameraman, along with most of the other humans, jumped back and away from both her and the rapidly approaching seeker.  Ratchet just caught sight of the medic diving underneath the wing he had been examining.

When he reached them, Starscream went into a protective crouch over Arcee, swatting at any human that was too close.  Thankfully, he didn’t hit any of them. Then they all heard something they didn’t expect.

“Yuia ghuftft nus saka nx r'uang aghax r'un na xuia ruftshx th'aasia'at!” Starscream had growled.

Ratchet had to pause the video at that point, just to give them all time to comprehend that.

“OK, since when did O’Screamer know squid?”  Wheeljack asked, the first to find his vocalizer.  He looked just as surprised as Ratchet and everyone else.  Well, Jetfire didn’t look surprised at all.

“He’s known it for as long as I’ve known him,” Jetfire told them.  “Fluent in it, actually.”

Wheeljack looked stunned and seem to go into thought for a moment before shaking his head.  “Well...any way to find out what he just said? Probably nothing pretty by my guess.”

“I am comfortable with the language,” Optimus admitted.  “I believe what he said was: ‘You will not take my friend away’.”  After a pause he added. “There was a bit more...but I’d rather not repeat it.”

Ratchet blinked at that.  “Are you sure you translated that right, Optimus?” he asked.  “Starscream...considering anyone...let alone an organic...a _friend_?”

“The Starscream I once knew would,” Jetfire retorted.  “And...it appears that Starscream is showing itself again.”

//Not to cut in on a debate, but what did you mean by  ‘squid’?\\\ Fowler was asking. //Something tells me you don’t mean the tentacled aquatic life we have here.\\\

“Quintessons,” Ratchet replied.  “And they do actually have tentacles.”

“They are a race of intergalactic beings that once occupied our homeworld,” Optimus further explained.  “They attempted to enslave us, but we drove them away.”

//Right...Cthulhu aliens, got it.\\\

“Let’s keep watching the video,” Jetfire suggested.  “I want to see what else happens.”

“Right….”  Ratchet partly didn’t want to know.  What he had seen so far was shocking enough as is.  He unpaused it anyway.

One of the humans had aimed a weapon at the seeker, whom he was glaring at.  The cameraman shoved the weapon back down again. “ _No you idiot!  Fowler said to retreat if he shows up!”_

“Oh no…,” Ratchet muttered, having caught the brief flicker of recognition on the seeker’s face. He was certain he wasn’t the only one.

//Yeah...I did the most epic of facepalms when I heard that the first time…,\\\ Fowler was sighing.

The humans had retreated back to the treeline by now.  However, they quickly realized one was missing. Meanwhile, Starscream was trying to wake Arcee up, sounding more and more panicked as time went on.

Then the human medic must have spoken or something, as Starscream’s body language turned to alarmed and angry once more.  “ _Where are you?_ ” he had growled, having switched to the humans’ language.  “ _Show yourself_.”

“ _Oh no,_ ” the cameraman was muttering as Starscream then snatched up the medic into one of his hands.

Everyone was tense as they listened to the exchange between them, the medic trying to assure him that Arcee was just sedated and ‘should’ be alright.

“ _She is not a PET!”_  the seeker suddenly retorted to a comment the human made about Arcee.  Then held the human away from him, a disgusted look on his face.

“Ha!” Phaseshot laughed.  “Poor man emptied his bowels into his garments.”  There were several ‘too much information’ expressions around the group. In honestly, Ratchet was rather surprised Starscream took offense on Arcee’s behalf at being called a ‘pet’.

After a bit more conversation, Starscream then actually let the human go, whom quickly ran away as fast as he could.  Starscream then finished removing the bindings off of Arcee, picked her up with such care it boggled Ratchet’s mind, then ran off.  The video ended then.

//There is a bit more to this that wasn’t recorded,\\\ Fowler stated.  //One of the scouts managed to follow him to a cave where he put her down.  Then left her there. Just as they were considering to go in again for another attempt, he returned.  With a dead deer.\\\

“He hunted for her….”  Ratchet’s processor was truly blown.  Why would Starscream go through all this trouble for a creature he considered beneath him?  Even with her ability to find energon, surely this would have been too inconveniencing for him?

“I...I never thought...after all this time….”  Jetfire was saying, his voice cracking a bit and his optics slightly clouded.  “I would see that side of him again.”

“It would seem being with Arcee has had a positive effect on Starscream,” Optimus commented, a small smile on his face.

Ratchet scoffed.  “If this is not all an act,” he cautioned.  “Need I remind you that he clearly remembers Fowler and he’s a smart bot.  He’ll get curious on why a human that is known to be associated with us ordered her capture.  This event may have blown her cover….”

“Then it will depend on how she responds to his inquiries on the matter,”  Optimus concluded. “In that case, it would be best not to add to any suspicion.  Agent Fowler, I would suggest ceasing any further attempt at capturing her.”

//Understood.  I don’t think the boys would be eager to try again any time soon,\\\ Fowler admitted.  //They were lucky to get away with only a few bumps and scrapes...and a need of a change of pants.\\\

“We should still try to keep an optic on them,”  Jetfire suggested, to which Ratchet was grateful.  He was half-expecting him to suggest to leave them completely alone.  “What was their last known location?”

//Hold on, let me get you the exact coordinates.\\\

Once Fowler gave them, it was Wheeljack that spoke next.

“That’s not too far from where I had my little incident yesterday,” he pointed out.

“Could would it be possible that’s their next destination?”  Optimus asked.

Jetfire was already adding the points on the map.  “Quite possible. They do seem to be heading in that general direction.”

“Then I’ll head back over there and keep a lookout for ‘em,” Wheeljack offered. “Arcee already knows me...and my reputation, so she won’t suspect I’m out there lookin’ for her directly.”

“A sound plan, Wheeljack,” Optimus agreed, nodding head.

“Just try to stay downwind,” Phaseshot advised.  “She’ll be able to smell you.”

“Are ya tellin’ me I stink or somethin’?”  Wheeljack queried, sounding half-insulted, half-amused.

“I do wonder when was the last time you hit the washracks, Wheeljack,” Ratchet added, chuckling a bit.  The Wrecker rolled his optics.

“Dragons have a very keen sense of smell,” Phaseshot explained.  “And each of us has a unique scent. Bumblebee for instance, was Titanium and Rubber.  That multi-legged black hearted creature, Airachnid, had the scent of lead and acid.”

“Interesting,” Ratchet admitted.  “Airachnid’s sound definitely appropriate for her.”

“So we each have ‘two’ scents?” Jetfire was asking.

“The first I list is the actual physical scent,” Phaseshot replied.  “The second, is related to your souls element in some way.”

“Fascinating.”

//Let me know if I can be of any assistance,\\\ Fowler announced.  //I got other calls to make.\\\

“We thank you for your help, Agent Fowler,”  Optimus said with a nod of his head. Once Fowler had disconnected, he looked at Wheeljack.  “What is it you need to tell us, Wheeljack?”

“Very short version:  I am certain I just had another run in with the energon thief,” Wheeljack replied.  “And I believe I know who he is.” When he was certain he had gotten everyone’s attention, he told the story.

\--

Nemesis 

“Another failure, Dreadwing?”  Megatron asked as he looked at the seeker, his arms folded across his chest.  Dreadwing had just finished telling him what happened and he was not impressed.  The Warlord expected better from him.

“Wheeljack would be dust if the unknown entity had not interfered,” Dreadwing replied with a sneer, his newly repaired wing twitching with agitation.  He clearly did not like how humiliating his defeat was.

“An entity you saw no trace of.”

“Which leads me to suspect this entity is the same one committing the energon thefts.”

At this Megatron quirked an optic ridge in question, prompting the seeker to continue.

“I studied each report on the theifs and interviewed the drones personally on the latest one,” Dreadwing explained.  “There was no trace of the thief and the crates simply disappeared. One worker stated he would adjust a crate, turn around for one nano and when he turned back, it was gone.”

“But the thief was not seen at all?”

“Negative, my Lord.”

Megatron lowered his head a moment in thought, putting things together.  “If the one responsible is a fellow Cybertronian…,” Megatron stated. “There is only one I know that had the tech that would allow him to disappear so completely.  Skywarp.”

Dreadwing’s optics widened.  “One of Starscream’s personal wing,” he commented.

“If he truly still lives, the only member of his wing still in his employ,” Megatron pointed out.  “However, we had not seen him since our run in with Quintessons during the exodus.”

“A fact that means little for someone of his abilities,” Dreadwing sneered.  “If he lives, this could mean Starscream is ultimately responsible.”

Megatron thought back to their encounter in the mine.  “No, I do not believe so,” he countered. “While Skywarp’s loyalty was frustratingly to Starscream before anyone else and would do something like this at his command, no one on this ship believes he still lives, including Starscream.”

“And you are certain of this?” Dreadwing asked.

“Skywarp had a much stronger bond with his twin than you did with yours, Dreadwing,” Megatron explained.  “If Thundercracker’s death at the hands of the Quintessons did not kill him outright, the loss of his twin would likely lead him to take his own life.”

Dreadwing had lowered his head in contemplation.  “Regardless of his fate, I believe I have enough information to enact a plan to catch our thief,”  he stated. “I have discovered a pattern and if I am correct, the thief will make another round at our stores within fourteen of this planet's cycles.”  After a pause, he asked. “When I catch the thief, do you wish for me to bring them in for interrogation, or immediately terminate?”

“Someone of such skill may be useful to us,” Megatron replied.  “It would be better to convince them to join us instead. However, if they refuse...do as you see fit.”

Dreadwing’s smirk was devious.

\--

Autobot Base

“...Then when I looked back up after reading it, he was gone,”  Wheeljack explained. “No tracks leading away, nothing. I even felt around that spot, still nothing.  Only way he could have completely disappeared like that with no trace was to teleport. Oh...when I checked my ship for damage, I found this.“  He tossed the pole over to Ratchet. “He must have torn it off when he had his fit of panic.”

“That color…,” Jetfire was gasping.  “That does match part of Skywarp’s color scheme.  But...his frame doesn’t have anything like that.”

“It’s not part of his frame…,” Ratchet explained as he did a scan on it.  “At least not a natural part. This is just a normal alloy, but it’s been coated with a substance that allowed the bot’s color nanites to extend over it.  See how some of it’s turning grey?” He pointed at the tip of it, where spots of grey were starting to appear. “I’m also detecting CNA at the torn off end.”

“So the owner is Cybertronian,” Optimus stated.

“A seeker,” Wheeljack added.  “I’m fairly certain of it. When I was holding him, I felt what should have been their wings.  I’m pretty short...he was quite tall and only one frame type has winglets that are long enough to touch me.”

“By the Allspark...If these are in place of his wings…,” Ratchet muttered grimly.  “Then he can’t fly….”

“He’ll likely soon be under the effect of flight envy...if not already,” Jetfire added.

“I think his little joyride on top of the Jackhammer will probably help keep that away for the time being,” Wheeljack pointed out.

“Still...everything points to it really being Skywarp.” Jetfire had a hopeful look, but it turned grim.  “But he’s not in good shape.”

“Can’t fly...bad pump...and likely mute,” Ratchet muttered.  “It’s a miracle he survived this long...not to mention the question of how he got to this planet.”

“Whether or not this is really Skywarp,” Optimus spoke up.  “It is clear this bot is in need of aid, but is reluctant to reach out to anyone for it directly.”

“Perhaps, since Wheeljack has proven himself ‘friendly’ to him,” Phaseshot announced.  “This individual will approach him again. Or at least be less inclined to flee when discovered.”  Wheeljack noticed the former dragon had taken the pole he had given Ratchet and was looking it over thoughtfully.

“You think you have your context now, don’t you?”  Ratchet asked.

“I do,” Phaseshot replied.  

“Context for what?”  Wheeljack asked, curious.

Phaseshot looked at him, a look of consideration on his face.  “When you first arrived, I was told this by the All: ‘When the white meets the black, pains old and new will begin to heal and old friends will reunite.’”

Wheeljack blinked, then sighed. “Great...more metaphors,” he groaned.

“The white is you, Wheeljack,” Phaseshot told him.  “The black...I believe is this bot.” He held up the pole.  “I believe he may have other damage you did not get a chance to _see_.”

The Wrecker snorted and rolled his optics.  “Chances are I won’t meet the guy again,” he claimed.  “Not with the skills he clearly has.”

“I wouldn’t make any bets on that…,” Phaseshot countered, a faint smirk on his face.

Oh, that’s right.  He was talking to the slagger that can see the future.

“Well, he’ll have to wait in line,” Wheeljack huffed.  “I got a potential date with Starscream and Arcee first.”

Bulkhead was chuckling.  “Going for a threesome, Jackie?” his friend teased.

“Ha ha, very funny, Bulk,” Wheeljack chuckled.  “I’m just going to observe, not actually talk to them.  Besides.” He smirked, making sure to keep an optic on Ratchet.  “I wouldn’t want to interfere with any budding romance between those two.”

The look of absolute horror on Ratchet’s face was priceless.

\-- 

R'aagun 

He had been in stasis for longer than he thought he would, according to his chronometer anyway.  That usually wasn’t a good sign. Skywarp looked at Yarzon questioningly as he sat up so the Quintesson could do another repairs.

“Your pump suffered a leak,” Yarzon explained.  “I had to clean that up and strengthen the weld for one of the main lines.  You’re very lucky your systems were able to seal the leak on its own this time.”

Scrap.  So it was a borderline major attack.  Considering he was _mostly_ cloaked at the time, there was no guarantee Wheeljack would have been able to get him help.  Can’t operate on someone you can’t _see_ after all!

“While I am welding on a new extension, mind giving me the full story?”

Skywarp sighed and started writing it down on the pad.  By the time he was done, Yarzon was done with his work and started reading it.  He couldn’t help but tense and fret a little while he waited.

“Kazak, Skywarp...why didn’t you teleport out of the area the moment you noticed the fight?”

Skyward soundlessly groaned and rolled his optics.  He knew it. ]I am not a Quintesson,[ he reminded him, grateful he could use wing language again.  ]I don’t run at the first sign of trouble every time.[

Yarzon stiffened a little at the implied insult, though it was basically true.  Quintessons were cowards at spark and Yarzon was no exception in his regard.

“Someone in _your_ condition _should_ have done everything they could to avoid trouble!”  the Quintesson countered pointedly.

]Well I am not _smart_ like that![  Skywarp signed with a sneer as he stood up, towering over the Quintesson.  ]Besides, that little joyride on the Jackhammer did more to help keep flight envy away than the simulator has in orns![

Yarzon’s tentacles went still for a moment at this.  “The simulator has lost its effectiveness?”

]Duh...I just said that.[  Skywarp folded his arms, looking down at him unamused.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

]I didn’t want to worry you,[ he admitted, looking away.

“Warp, I worry about you anyway!”

]And what could you have done about it?[  He snapped his head back toward him.

“Engineering is my primary field, Warp!” Yarzon reminded him.  “I would have thought of something!”

] _Drone_ engineering,[ Skywarp corrected.  ]And would you have thought of solution before I went insane?[

The Quintesson did not answer as he looked at the floor briefly.

]I need my _wings_ back, Yarzon![

“I know that,” Yarzon stated quietly.  “But your pump….”

]Then let me approach the Autobots![ he signed with a huff.  ]They’ll fix me! I know they will![

“Skywarp, no!  We cannot tip our hand toward either faction!”

]I kind of already did today![ Skywarp pointed out.  ]I did just _literally_ kick Dreadwing off the Jackhammer![

“And who knows what repercussions will come because of that!”

]He didn’t see me![  Primus this was getting so frustrating!

“And what of Wheeljack?  He may have seen enough of you to figure you out!”

]And that would be a bad thing _how?_ [ Skywarp demanded.  ]He was willing to help me. And I would have let him if you hadn’t drove it into my head I needed to avoid all contact with other Cybertronians![

“That was for your own safety!”

]Yeah? Well maybe it’s time to start taking some risks, Yarzon![ Skywarp clenched his fists.  ]Otherwise all I am going to be good for is stealing things for the rest of my life![ This optics clouded up as that realization hit him.  ]Just like how it was at the start...that’s all I was good for…[

Yarzon’s optics widened and he seemed to recoil a bit.  “Skywarp...that’s not-”

Skywarp didn’t want to hear it.  He teleported into his quarters. There he screamed, or at least would have if his vocalizer worked.  Not getting satisfaction because of that fact, he knocked over one of the panels he was metal etching on.  Then knocked over a few more before he finally sat down with a huff on the floor.

_Stupid squid._  He just didn’t understand, despite how smart he was.  Then again, perhaps the fault lay with himself? Perhaps he wasn’t communicating what he needed well enough.  Was he even capable of it? No vocalizer made that even harder. Wing language and written messages lacked true emotion, thus context was lost without it.  He was smart enough to know that.

Skywarp needed to fly.   _Really_ fly.  He also needed interaction with his own kind.  Both he got today, brief as it was. It was enough to clear up the fog that had been starting to cloud his processor, at least for a while.  He’ll need more of both, but Yarzon doesn’t get it. At least not fully.

So which was it?  Him being too stupid or unable to communication his real needs?  Or Yarzon being a steel wall? Perhaps a bit of all of it?

Perhaps...it was time he took things into his own hands.  He knew their search for Starscream was at a standstill, despite all the surveillance drones deployed.  Perhaps the Autobots have been keeping better track? Skywarp certainly wasn’t going to ask the Decepticons...not after what they did!

He knew the Autobots had limited resources, but they took care of their own.  If he approached them right, he may get what he really needed...and perhaps intel on Starscream as well.  But how? Just teleporting in front of a patrol of them would get him shot out of reflex: didn’t help he shared the colorscheme of the Con drones.

With a sigh he righted one of the panels, looking at it.  His optic widened. It was a metal etching he had started of Wheeljack.

_Of course!_

Wheeljack had already helped him once, a very long time ago.  He also offered to help him today. The Wrecker will likely be open to helping him out.

_Hmmm…_  His optic narrowed when he saw something in his reflection on the panel.  A reflection of the Decepticon shield that was on his chest. That had to go, if this idea had any chance of working.  Frag, he should have done this a long time ago!

Skywarp picked up one of the bigger metal etching tools and got to work….


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jetfire fires his own salvos at Ratchet in regards to Arcee.

Autobot Base 

Jetfire was having trouble focusing on his task.

He was supposed to be trouble shooting this formula, as it wasn’t working as it should.  However, his processor wouldn’t stay focused on it. Instead it kept going to other things, specifically certain bots.

Skywarp.  Ratchet told him he was most likely dead, killed by the Quintessons.  Now Wheeljack’s reports seem to strongly suggest that seeker was somehow still alive.  He felt relieved...yet, worried.

They knew for certain Thundercracker was dead, there was no question there.  The question was how was Skywarp handling it? That on top of not being able to fly?

If the bot Wheeljack encountered was Skywarp, he didn’t seem to be _too_ unstable.  Panicky and paranoid, but those were normal symptoms for flight envy.  Well, some of that could also be residual from his trauma caused by Flashwing: he wouldn’t be surprised if the war and the isolation resulted in some regression.  Scrap, Jetfire was certain he still had a long way to go in general when the war started. As far as he knew, Skywarp never attempted to court anyone after the ‘Flashwing’ incident, not even after he went through therapy.

Speaking of dating….

_Why do I always get attracted to the wrong bots?_   

He placed both palms on the desk in front of him and sighed.  An action that did not go unnoticed by Ratchet.

“Having trouble?” the medic asked him.

“Trouble focusing,” Jetfire admitted, before turning around to face him.  “Too much on my processor.”

“Such as?”

The _safer_ answer would be Skywarp, he knew the mystery on that one was on everyone’s processor.  However, he had questions about something else he felt a need for answers on. To see if he had any chance at all.  “You and Arcee,” he replied.

Ratchet visibly stiffened.  Close by he saw Phaseshot glance over from a datapad he was reading.  The rest that were present had no visible reaction, but he was certain many of them now had their audios tuned in their direction.

“What about us?” Ratchet asked, his tone slightly defensive.

“Did she...feel the same?” Jetfire queried cautiously.  From how he had reacted to Phaseshot’s rather blunt ‘let it go’ from before, he knew he could be ‘poking the scraplet nest’ with this.  And he didn’t have magic or a built in ‘phaseshifter’ like Phaseshot did.

“If she even felt a little…it’s been replaced by hate now,” Ratchet grumbled with a huff.  “And she’s the type to hold a grudge for a very long time….”

“So I’ve heard.”  Jetfire remembered all too clearly what Optimus told him about her.  It was this grudge that cause her to wind up getting turned into a dragon in the first place.  After a long, awkward silence, he decided to poke the nest again. “Was she the only one you were ever interested in?”

“What kind of question is that?” Ratchet retorted defensively, glaring at him.

Yep, the nest was getting agitated.  Jetfire lowered his wings and held up his hands in a submissive posture.  “I’m just curious! I meant no offense….”

Ratchet visibly took a deep intake.  Jetfire guessed he didn’t want to completely lose it again, considering how humiliating it turned out for him last time.  “Yes...she was,” he finally replied, his tone quiet.

That...didn’t bode well.  

“How long?” he asked next, being a natural follow up question in his opinion.

“Since the Golden Age,” Ratchet admitted with a sigh.  “I first met her when she came to my clinic for a follow up after a run in with a queen energon leech. I wanted to ask her out then, but it would have been inappropriate at that time.”  He lowered his head. “I should have then...things kept getting in the way since.”

“Such as?” he dared to ask.

“A number of things!” Ratchet snapped, raising his head and  throwing up his hands. “But chiefly, someone getting to her first!”

_Oh please no…._  Jetfire really didn’t like the direction this was going.  Around the room, more and more attention was being directed their way.  Optimus in particular looked concerned.

“Then maybe Primus is trying to tell you something,” he pointed out, as calmly as possible.

“And what would _that_ be,” Ratchet snarled.

“That you should stop pursuing her and look elsewhere.”

From how Ratchet drew back and the number of emotions that flashed on his face, he knew he hit a big nerve.  Everyone else knew it too.

“Ut oh.” He heard Bumblebee mutter as Ratchet’s expression finally settled on anger.

“Stop?  After I finally have a chance again!?” Ratchet spat.  “I don’t think so!”

_Scrap._  This _was_ going in the direction he feared.  Jetfire hardened his expression and flared his wings.  “I think you destroyed that bridge already, Ratchet.”

Now Ratchet looked livid.  “Bridges can be rebuilt!” he cried, throwing a punch at him.

Jetfire caught it easily and held it as he leaned in close.  “Do you know who you kind of remind me of right now, Ratchet?”  Jetfire asked, then answered before Ratchet could respond. “Flashwing.”

Recognition flashed in the medic’s optics: yeah he remembered what he mentioned before on him.

“Flashwing,” Jetfire continued, wanting to drive the point home.  “Only ever pursued Skywarp. Claimed he was his...and only his. His _chosen_ . That they were meant to be, even after Skywarp made it _clear_ he wanted nothing to do with him.  Flashwing stalked him...attempted to isolate him...kidnapped him... _molested_ him….”

“I would _never_ -” Ratchet started, shock and revulsion on his face.

“Shut up! I’m not done yet,” Jetfire growled.  “It is true that you haven’t crossed that line, Ratchet, but how long until you do in your desperation?  Let her go before you do and lose what respect you have left!”

“Some paths are never meant to be followed,” Phaseshot spoke up.  They both looked in his direction, seeing he was approaching them.  “No matter how tempting they can be. Doing so would only lead to pain and misery, for both yourself and others.”

Then, to both their surprise, he reached out clasped the hand that was still holding Ratchet’s fist, keeping him from letting go.

_What is he-_

“A fork in the road is before you now,” Phaseshot revealed.  “Which path will you take? The one the that will lead to misery?  Or the one that will lead to a new beginning?”

It wasn’t clear who the bot was talking to, as he wasn’t looking at either them, only at the hands he had clasped in his own.  Was he referring to them both?

_Our hands…._

It dawned on him that Phaseshot was giving them a hint on what he meant.  The question was, did Ratchet see it as well?

From the confused expression on the medic’s face, Jetfire feared he didn’t.

This was going to be a hard path to take….

\-- 

Wilderness

Starscream scrutinized the scene below.  There were far fewer drones here than he was expecting.  Said drones were packing up the equipment, a telltale sign that this mine was finished.

]It would appear we got here just in time,[ he signed Ves’het.  ]Another breem or two and there would have been no one here.[

~Fewer guards means less risk for us,~ Ves’het commented.

]Not necessarily,[ he corrected. ]With the lessened activity, they’ll be more likely to notice someone is missing.[

~Then we take them all out.~

He chuckled with amusement.  ]You read my processor. However, we need to plan this out.[

~I can distract them,~ she offered.  ~I’ve approached a place like this before:  they won’t act aggressive toward me unless I get too close.~

Starscream made a thoughtful noise.  Drones _were_ easily distracted...and these drones looked rather bored of their task.   It should work. He nodded for her to go ahead. The dragon grinned before slinking off.  Starscream marveled for a moment how such a large organic creature can move so silently.

When he lost sight of her, he focused his attention on the drones below.  He hated the idea of taking down servant class drones as well, but they had no choice here. Not if they wanted to ensure reinforcements weren’t summoned.  With limited mobility on both their counts, it wouldn’t be easy to escape if that happened.

After a few kliks had passed, he started to get worried when he didn’t see her.  Was there a patrol they didn’t notice? Did she finally use this opportunity to ditch him?  The latter in particular bothered him, as he really didn’t want to be alone again.

Then, he saw a stone roll into view, followed by Ves’het, who batted it again with a paw.

_What is she-_   It dawned on him quickly:  she was acting like a simple minded, but playful, beast.  As she ‘played’ with the improvised ‘ball’, the drones attention were quickly drawn to her.  They were fascinated by her act. So fascinated that they called for their buddies that were within the mines still to come out and watch.  

_Nine of them._  With the element of surprise, he should be able to take down most of them before they get their wits about them.  All of them if Ves’het joins in, though he was wary of her getting hurt in the melee. He reminded himself that she seemed tougher than she looked and a part of him _was_ curious to know how she would fight.  Her electric breath weapon will certainly come into play.

_Time to do my part._

Silently, he started stalking toward them…

\--

Stake out duty was always more fun if someone was with you.

Wheeljack sighed quietly as he looked down at the mine.  He had been here for _breems_ and he wondered if the two he was waiting for saw this mine was closing up shop and decided to move on.  That would certainly be his luck.

_Ebony would probably tease me about my lack of patience._

A stab of pain, guilt went through his spark, his processor dredging up the memory of their last conversation.

~

_“Wheeljack, please…,” Ebonscream was pleading, his hands up defensively.  Behind him cowered a member of a faction he despised with all his spark. “Ya knew yaself that-”_

_“You knew what they did to me!” Wheeljack screamed.  “Know what they intend to do to everyone! Yet here ya are cuddlin’ up with one of them!?”_

_“Wheeljack, listen….”  There was pain and distress in the taller bot’s voice._

_“Why should I listen to a traitor!?” He had cried, his voice getting louder.  “You betrayed us!”_

_“Wheeljack….”  Ebonscream’s voice was barely a whisper._

_“No! Go away!  I don’t want to see you again!  Go rust in the Pit for all I care!”_

_~_

Wheeljack crushed his optics closed, the regret heavy in his spark.   The next memory reared its head.

~

_He stood in what was, essentially, massive storage room.  Around him were rows of tanks, most containing at least one Cybertronian within.  Dead ones. He was looking up one in particular, his frame trembling in shock. The one that contained Ebonscream’s corpse, which was fused together by the spark chamber with the Siren he refused to give a chance._

_“No….” His voice was barely a squeak as he leaned forward, his hands planting against the glass of the tank.  “I’m sorry….” His optics clouded up as he looked up at the body. “I didn’t mean it….”_

_~_

Wheeljack let out another long sigh.  What would Ebonscream be doing now if he hadn’t driven him away? Perhaps more Wreckers would be alive now.  Perhaps-

A noise down by the mine snapped him back to the present.  The drones were suddenly being very talkative, excited even.  They were gathering in one area, all looking at something with great interest.  He quickly saw why.

It was Arcee.

Wheeljack’s optics widened as he watched her bat around a round stone, acting very much like a cybercat playing with it’s prey.  The drones were fascinated by this, but the Wrecker was perplexed on why she would be acting like this.

Movement off to the side, behind the drones, got his attention.  It was Starscream. The seeker was low, wings flat on his back as he stalked toward the distracted drones.

Distracted.  That’s what she was doing.  Being a distraction. The Wrecker was finding himself curious how the grounded seeker would handle so many drones on his own.  He had always fought at a distance from his recollection and it was clear he didn’t intend to use his missiles. Perhaps he wanted to avoid harming Arcee?

But why even bother?  It was clear the mine was stripped, Starscream was smart enough to see that.  Was he fighting against his old faction in his own way?

He looked back at Arcee.  She was still fooling around, but there was a noticeable difference in her posture.  Her wings were now very tightly folded, making appear almost like another set of arms.  Then, she had picked up the improvised ‘ball’ with her jaws and threw it. It bounced off one of the drone’s heads.  It was while the others were laughing that Starscream attacked.

Those claws of his slashed and cut into the drones with deadly precision, cutting down four drones before they realized what was happening.  That’s when it got interesting.

Wheeljack’s jaw dropped open.  Starscream was no slouch in hand to hand combat.  He ducked and weaved, grabbed a drone’s arm and tossed it into another, before thrusting his claws into the spark chamber of a different one.  The style was mostly defensive, from what he could tell, which made sense for Starscream’s frame type: seeker’s were not really made for close combat like this.

Arcee, he knew, was a close combat specialist.  When she was Cybertronian at least. Looking at her now, he saw that didn’t really change.

Despite her new form, she was holding her own.  She mainly kept the drones that Starscream wasn’t focused on busy.  While she wasn’t doing much damage, those wing spars and the blades on her tail were effective enough to keep the drones occupied until Starscream got to them.

_Ut oh._   Wheeljack spotted one that had been tossed away from the battle that was aiming his cannon at Starscream’s back.  The seeker was finishing off the second to last drone and Arcee was too far away to reach it in time. Wheeljack was certain he was about to see Starscream get shot.

Then, Starscream dove to the ground, just in time to avoid a bolt of fragging lightning from Arcee.  The bolt hit the drone square on, forcing it to stagger back, its frame convulsing a bit. By the time it recovered, Starscream was right there, his claws now in it’s spark chamber.

_OK, so she does have long range capabilities in that form.  Shocking._

“That was a weaker one than the one you used before.”  Wheeljack heard Starscream comment. A moment later, he said.  “Ah, I see. Makes sense.”

_What?_  Wheeljack looked at Arcee.  She hadn’t made a sound, or any movement at signified  communication. As an organic right now, she wouldn’t have access to the comms either.

Another puzzle to work out, though one he was certain Phaseshot knew the answer to.  The more important question was ‘why bother’.

He got his answer when Starscream started cutting open the drone corpses and pulling out their tanks.  Wheeljack’s own tank churned at the sight when he realized what he was doing, sliding down the hill a bit so he didn’t have to see it.   _Ugh...Prime...you left out that detail!_

Wheeljack did glimpse Starscream’s expression before ducking down.  The seeker didn’t look like he liked this either. _I suppose you don’t have much choice right now, do you?_  No T-Cog, an outcast...he had to get refined energon _somehow_.  The Wrecker supposed it was pride that was keeping him from approaching them for assistance.

_Well, mission complete anyway._  He saw what he needed to see.  The humans’ slip up didn’t seem to have effected that pair’s ‘working’ relationship as far as he could see.  If anything, they worked very well together. Ratchet surely wasn’t going to like this, but oh well.

Time to get some distance and call for a ground bridge back to base.

A faint growl reached his audios to his left.

_Oh scrap._

He turned and sure enough…

Arcee was right there, snarling at him….

\--

_What is he doing here?_

Arcee had noticed him while double checking the perimeter while Starscream was scavenging.  If the Wrecker hadn’t obviously been watching them, she would have ignored him. However, the humans’ attempt to capture her was still fresh in her mind and she was wary of any other attempts to ‘rescue’ her.  So she decided to confront him.

“Whoa...whoa...easy!”  Wheeljack was saying softly, scooting away from her a bit as she approached, her teeth bared, posture aggressive.  “I’m not here to harm...just watch.”

_Yeah...right…._  She growled a bit louder.

“Look...Prime told Fowler to back off, Arcee…,” Wheeljack claimed, his hands up.  “I’m just here to make sure Screamer hasn’t harmed ya...since we feared ya cover was blown an’ all.”

The tension in her body eased a bit, her ears flicking forward as she tilted her head in question.

“We don’t want to hurt Screamer either,” Wheeljack explained, the tension visibly easing his frame.  “We’re startin’ to see he has changed a bit...if it’s not all an act of course.”

Arcee shook her head.  Wheeljack had raised an optic ridge at that.  

“Ya don’t think it’s an act?”  he asked.

She shook her head again, then lowered her head in thought.  If Wheeljack was being truthful and she doubted he wasn’t: he was reckless and cocky, but not a liar in her experience, she had an opportunity to update the team on what she had learned.  She just needed a way to pass on that information.

_Maybe he has something to write with…._

“Ves?” she heard distantly and she rotated an ear in that direction.  “I’m nearly done, where are you?”

_Scrap._  She didn’t have much time to tell Wheeljack anything as surely Starscream would come looking for her eventually.  Quickly she started writing on the ground. ~I’m fine,~ she told the seeker. ~Just double checking something.~

Thank Primus there was no way to know what direction a telepath was sending from.  As far as she knew….

\--

Wheeljack was relieved Arcee relaxed.  He certainly didn’t want to find out it was like to be zapped by that lightning weapon of hers.  Now she had written something on the ground.

#Have something to write with?#  She was also now sitting, occasionally looking back toward the mine.

The Wrecker caught on quickly:  she wanted to tell him something without Starscream seeing it.  He pulled a datapad out of his subspace and handed it to her, erasing her message in the dirt right after.  Wheeljack kept his audios and optics tuned for signs of an approaching seeker as she started typing on the pad quickly.  He noticed her ears kept flicking back every half-klik or so, though he didn’t hear anything.

“Ves?” a familiar gravely voice called out, not long after.

_Ut oh...outta time…._

Arcee rolled her eyes, then suddenly pounced on the Wrecker with a growl.  Wheeljack made an undignified yelp as his back hit the ground. Arcee was pressing the datapad against his chest, with an desperate ‘take it’ look in her eyes.  He did so and subspaced it just as Starscream stepped into the scene.

“Oh….” Starscream looked half surprised, half amused.  “Making new friends, Ves?”

Arcee snorted and snarled at him.  Wheeljack put his hands up in submission, playing along.

“Didn’t think ya had a thing for organics, Screamer.,” he commented.

There was an irritated brow twitch on the seeker, his expression definitely no longer amused.  “There are always exceptions, Wrecker,” he retorted. “If you even _think_ about hurting my friend….”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Wheeljack replied honestly.  “Ya know us Autobots don’t like takin’ innocent lives if we can help it.   Unlike you Cons’.” That was probably not a good thing to say, now that he thought about it.  Arcee almost had a panicked expression on her face, though thankfully Starscream couldn’t see it from this angle.

Starscream’s face went through a mix of emotions before sighing and looking away.  “I know…,” he commented softly, looking...regretful?

_Wait...what?_  Wheeljack looked at him perplexed.  He was expecting him to make some kind of retort...not basically _agree_ with him.  “OK...who are you and what did you with Starscream?” he asked.

Starscream actually _laughed_ at that.  Not an evil sounding one either.  It sounded more...sad.

“I am still figuring that out myself, Wheeljack,” the seeker replied sadly.  “Ves, get off him, please.”

Arcee gave him a ‘don’t do anything rash’ look before hopping off him and sitting by Starscream’s side.

No problem. Wheeljack had no intention of doing anything that may jeopardize her life. He quickly stood up and dusted himself off.

“I...apologize for how I treated you the last time we meet.,”  Starscream stated unexpectedly.

_What…._

“I was not in my right mind then...I realise that now,” the seeker continued.  “It was not right to treat someone that once helped me like that….”

_Huh?_  Wheeljack looked at him perplexed, Arcee he noticed had a similar expression.  “I don’t believe I’ve ever helped ya before.”

Starscream smirked at him, a friendly one.  “I’m not surprised you don’t recognize me...it was so long ago...and I am not the same as I was back then.”

“You’re just confusing me more now.”

“Come now, Wheeljack, I know you are smarter than that!”  Starscream chuckled. “You figured me out once...I know you can do so again.”  Now the seeker looked over his shoulder, back toward the mine: Wheeljack caught a glimpse of a couple of drone tanks he had slung over his shoulder.

“I think it would be best we all move on,” Starscream commented, looking back at him.  “It will only be a matter of time before someone on the _Nemesis_ notices the workers here haven’t reported in.  I don’t think any of us want to be around when they come to investigate.”

“I can take anything they can throw at me,” Wheeljack snorted.

Starscream was frowning at him with disapproval.   “You’re overconfidence will get you killed one day, Wheeljack,” he said as he turned and started walking away.  “It would be a waste of a good spark.”

Wheeljack stared at his back slack jawed.  Arcee just looked even more perplexed before turning to follow the seeker.

_Primus...why did he remind me of Ebony just then?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder I'm always open for feedback on my work! I don't bite!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two secrets are exposed.

Nemesis

"So why did Megatron give this job to you?” Breakdown was asking.  “This is not really your field.”

“Because I’m the closest to being an actual  _ scientist _ on this ship,” Knockout sighed with exasperation as he continued to make adjustments to the device he was working on.  “They literally have no one else.”

It was a true statement.  Really, the only bot that would have been a better fit was Starscream, but he wasn’t about to let Megatron know that.  He may miss the loud mouthed seeker, but he respected his choice to bugger off. It took very big bearings to give Megatron the finger and leave.  Knockout was honestly surprised the Warlord hadn’t had the seeker hunted down and turned into slag.

_ Then again...perhaps it has something to do with- _

“Knockout.”  Megatron’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes, my Liege?” Knockout greeted as he looked up from his work.  “Do you have a problem that needs addressing? A dislocated shoulder? Misaligned spinal strut?  Some scratches to buff out?”

Megatron visibly rolled his optics at the last one before speaking.  “What is the status of the project?”

Straight to the point, as usual.  Megatron was not happy when Soundwave told him that the energy source the humans were tapping into was gone, so he had assigned Knockout to assist Soundwave with finding a new source.

“To be quite frank, Megatron,” Knockout replied.  “Finding what you need will take old fashioned field work.”

There was faint impatient growl from the warlord.  “And why is that, Knockout?” he demanded. “Our ship sensors should be sufficient to the task.”

“Soundwave and I already tried,” Knockout explained with a sigh.  “Full system crash everytime, no matter what adjustments we did. Our best guess on to why?  This damn energy is literally  _ everywhere  _ in varying concentrations.”

“But it was only a very heavy concentration that enabled the humans to even notice it?”  Megatron asked, a brow raised.

Knockout nodded in confirmation.  “So, since a wide range sensor search won’t work, multiple smaller ones will have to do.” He held up the device he was working on.  “I’ve modified this handheld scanner to be able to read the density of this energy.”

To demonstrate, he held up the scanner and activated it.  It started beeping, said beeps picking up in frequency as he swept it closer to Breakdown.  “I still need to make some tweaks to it,” he admitted. “Any bot that stands in front of it throws it off.  You see, our own bodies contain some concentration of this energy...our sparks specifically. I’ve been trying to tweak it so it can ignore that.”

“Interesting.”  Megatron looked thoughtful for a moment.  “Kept that ‘feature’,” he stated. “It may be useful in the future.”

“As you wish, my Lord.”

“Are there any other issues with this device?”

“Not as far as I can tell, my Lord,” Knockout replied.  “Though I imagine some will show up once put out into the field.  Thus is the way of field trials.”

“Then we will deal with them as they come,” Megatron stated.  “Make more of these devices, Knockout, so that we can start deploying troops to find a new concentrated source of this energy.”

“Understood, my Liege.”  Knockout gave Megatron a little bow as the Warlord turned and left his lab.

Megatron didn’t give a timetable, but the medic already knew how soon he wanted them done.

Now.

\--

Autobot Base

_ “Stop chasing what is not meant to be yours.” _

_ “Maybe Primus is trying to tell you something.” _

Those phrases, from Phaseshot and Jetfire respectively, kept echoing in his head.   And stayed there, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them or force them out.

Ratchet sighed and rubbed his forehead.  Why didn’t they understand? And how dare Jetfire  _ compare _ him with Flashwing!  He wasn’t like that! Yes, he wanted to win Arcee’s spark, but he had enough decency to do things the  _ right _ way, not through stalking and torture like Flashwing.

Yet, Phaseshot had already proven to be able to see the future...and the future he saw apparently didn’t include him being with Arcee.  But the future can be changed, right?

_ “It can, if it is meant to be so.” _  He recalled Phaseshot’s response to that very question...and he had given no indication that this ‘future’ he saw regarding him and Arcee can be changed.

_ I suppose my own actions didn’t help there. _

He should have been more sympathetic, more understanding.  Perhaps his relationship with Arcee would still be on a ‘friend’ level.  Right now, he’d probably be lucky if she didn’t see him as a flat out enemy.

The past, unlike the future, cannot be changed, however.

Perhaps Jetfire had a point.  That Primus was trying to tell him something.

That he and Arcee are not meant to be.

Ratchet growled softly at the very thought.  No, Phaseshot had to be wrong! Jetfire had to be wrong!  Arcee can be his, he just needed to mend things between them!  She just needed to-

_ “Flashwing only ever pursued Skywarp.  Claimed he was his...and only his.” _

Ratchet’s optics widened in shock when it finally dawned on him  _ why _ Jetfire compared him with Flashwing.  He was acting like an obsessed bot.  _ Primus…. _  His frame started to tremble.   _ Am I starting to turn into a monster like him? _

_ “A fork in the road is before you now,”  _  Phaseshot had said.   _ “Which path will you take?  The one the that will lead to misery?  Or the one that will lead to a new beginning?” _

The problem Ratchet realized he was having, was that he couldn’t tell which path was the  _ good _ one.  He couldn’t see life without Arcee, which he saw as misery.  Yet, the way things were going that wasn’t going to happen. Who else could there be for him?  Was he cursed to live the rest of his cycles alone?

He saw that as misery as well.

//Wheeljack to base,\\\ the comm console pingged.  //Requesting Ground Bridge.\\\

As Optimus activated the ground bridge controls, Ratchet breathed a silent sigh.  He could use the distraction right now from his mental turmoil. Hopefully Wheeljack was successful with his mission:  any information regarding Arcee would be welcome right now. Apparently  _ something _ happened, as the Wrecker looked a bit shocked.

“What happened?”  Optimus asked.

“Commander,” Wheeljack replied as the ground bridge closed behind him.  “You’re lucky I have a strong constitution: ya didn’t tell me o’Screamer is scavengin’ energon from drone tanks!”

Ratchet felt himself chuckle a little, his mood brightening a bit at seeing the tough Wheeljack looking a bit uncomfortable for once.

“My apologies,” Optimus was saying.  “That detail slipped my processor at the time.”  After a pause he asked. “Did anything else of significance happen?”

“A few things actually…,” the Wrecker scratched the side of his face.  “And one of those blew my processor.”

Ratchet felt himself straighten up and take a step closer as Wheeljack gave his report.  He was a bit surprised when the Wrecker described Arcee firing lightning.

“Wait...Dragons can breathe things other than fire?”  Jetfire was asking.

“It depends on their element,” Phaseshot explained.  “Mine is fire, thus I breathed fire in my previous form.  Arcee’s is electricity.”

“I see, now I think we may know who shot down Lazerbeak that day.  Lightning can be very damaging, even fatal, to us. Especially for a small bot like Lazerbeak.”

“Well, I’m just glad she didn’t decide to use that on  _ me _ ,” Wheeljack commented.

“She spotted you,”  Optimus stated, a small frown on his face.

“Yeah, apparently she decided to patrol the perimeter while Screamer was harvestin’.  Caught me just as I was thinkin’ about leavin’,” Wheeljack explained. “Was able to calm her down, told her Fowler was called off and that we weren’t lookin’ to hurt Screamer...told her we’ve seen signs he’s changed an all.”

“Provided it wasn’t all an act…,” Ratchet commented before he could stop himself.

“Yeah, I mentioned that too,” Wheeljack confirmed.  “She disagreed that it was an act though.”

“She was able to communicate with you?” Phaseshot asked, a brow raised.

“Only through writtin’ and good old body language,” Wheeljack replied.  “She seemed to have a different way to talk to Screamer though.”

“Telepathy, quite possibility,” Phasehot explained.  “Dragons are telepathic, though normally only with each other.  However, if a individual’s soul resonance shares enough in common with a dragon’s, they can at least learn to  _ receive _ it.”

“Fascinating,” Jetfire was heard muttering.  Ratchet found himself agreeing.

“Anyway,” Wheeljack spoke up, getting their attention again.  “She asked for something to write with, I gave her a datapad.”

“What did she write?” Ratchet half asked, half demanded.

“Don’t know...Screamer walked in on us before I could read it.”

Ratchet tensed along with everyone else.  Well, save for Phaseshot, he just seemed curious.

“Fortunately I was able to subspace the datapad before he saw it,” Wheeljack took out said datapad.  “And Arcee acted like she just found me.”

“So he hasn’t figured her out yet,” Ratchet sighed with relief, a few others he noted doing the same.  Why else would she act like that? “I suppose the seeker threatened you.”

“Actually...that’s the part I’m still wrappin’ processor around,” Wheeljack admitted before going into more detail.  There was hardly a unsurprised face afterward.

“OK, did Buckethead hit him over the head too many times or something?” Bulkhead asked.  “ _ Him _ , apologizing?  Scrap...being  _ nice _ in general?”

“Trust me I was thinkin’ the same thing, Bulk,” Wheeljack stated, folding his arms.  The Wrecker looked downcast. “He even reminded me of...Ebony...at the end.”

“Ebony?” Ratchet asked, that nickname sounding familiar.  “As in Ebonscream?” His memory was vague of that time, so long ago, but was fairly certain he was right.

Wheeljack nodded, but said nothing, looking lost in his thoughts.  The medic could see a bit of pain, even regret, in the Wrecker’s optics.

“Who was Ebonscream?” Bumblebee asked.

“Ebony was one of the founding members of the Wreckers,” Bulkhead replied.  “Real smart bot, good head on his shoulders and fair minded, but can be an annoying snarky aft as well.  He and Jackie often got into snark wars.” He then elbowed Wheeljack playfully. “You never could win those, could ya?”

Wheeljack chuckled faintly, a slight smile on his face.  “Good times…,” he replied. “’specially if our target was Kup.  And I did  _ win _ one of those:  it was actually the first time I got chased out of camp right alongside Ebony by that no-sense-of-humor bot.”

“And I’m not counting  _ that _ one on the account hardly anyone saw it!” Bulkhead poked him in the arm.

“Bah!”

“I am assuming Ebonscream is no longer with us,” Optimus stated.

Bulkhead shook his head and Wheeljack was looking down again.

“He was killed by the Quintessons, before we kicked them off of Cybertron,” Bulkhead sighed.  The Wrecker looked like he wanted to say more, but refrained when he saw just how down Wheeljack looked.

Ratchet frowned.  While he didn’t know fully why Wheeljack was looking so depressed, he knew he needed to be snapped out of it.  Optimus recognized it as well.

“Was there anything else of significance to note before we see what Arcee had written for us?” the Prime asked.

“Actually yes,” Wheeljack replied, looking up.  “Screamer seemed to have given her a name: Ves.”

Phaseshot had made an odd, almost squawking sound.  Ratchet looked at him to see the former dragon looked quite shocked.  He found that amusing that a bot of his abilities could be surprised.

“She told him her dragon name!?” Phaseshot cried.

“Wait...what?” Wheeljack looked confused.  

To be honest, so was he.  “Dragon name?” Ratchet asked.

Phaseshot visibility took a few intakes to calm himself down.  “Just before I lost my last physical form, her dragon name was revealed to me while in battle with Airachnid,” he explained.  “I told her to only give it to those she trusted.”

Ratchet felt his spark sink into his tank.  Arcee  _ trusted _ Starscream?  His processor was having a hard time accepting that.

“Ves?”  Bumblebee was saying. “Rather short compared to your’s, Phase.”

“That’s not the full name,” Phaseshot corrected.  “However, now that she knows it, I am not at liberty to reveal it in its fullest.”

“But she gave us your name before you joined us,” Ratchet pointed out.

“Because I was  _ dead, _ ” Phaseshot explained flatly.  “And she had no reason to believe I would return to this world in a new form.”

Reasonable, he supposed.  He was still having trouble with her trusting Starscream though.  “I think it’s time we learned what she wrote on that datapad,” he stated.

“I agree,” Optimus said.  “Wheeljack?”

The Wrecker nodded and handed it to the Prime.  Optimus visibly skimmed it for a moment before started to read it outloud.

“This will be brief, as he will start looking for me at any moment.’” The Prime read.  “‘First, Starscream hasn’t harmed me, nor does he know who I am.’”

Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief.

“‘There is something wrong with him.’” Optimus continued.  “‘He lost his memories regarding his time on Trypticon Station.’”

Jetfire, Ratchet noticed, straightened up, looking stunned.

“‘He does not believe it was due to an accident, like he was told.  He believes Shockwave did something to him, that is now becoming undone.  He regrets what he has done and failed to do. I don’t think he is certain on who he is anymore.  I want to help him find-.’“ Optimus paused a moment before adding. “It ends there.”

“That must have been when Screamer showed up,” Wheeljack commented.

“Her intent is still clear,” Optimus stated.  “She wishes to help him.”

“A dangerous game,” Ratchet muttered disapprovingly.  “This could all be an elaborate trick.”

“And why would he play such a trick on someone he doesn’t know is really one of his own kind?” Phaseshot pointed out.

“Maybe to play on her sympathies?” Ratchet countered, though he privately conceded that he had a point.

“Considering the Starscream we knew up until now saw organic life as  _ beneath _ him?” Bulkhead asked.  “I’m having trouble seeing that, to be honest.”

“You have a point,” Ratchet sighed.  “Before, he would have more likely treated her like a pet…a slave.”

“The mention of him losing his memories of Trypticon Station is telling…,” Jetfire commented softly.  “We spent most of our time there after Vos was lost.” He sighed before continuing. “ I know why he gave up the station to Megatron:  blackmail, essentially. I…fear I know what may have happened after…but…there may be only one bot still alive that might be willing to give us any information that may confirm it.”

“Skywarp,” Optimus stated with a nod of his head.  “It would appear confirming his status has become more critical, if we are to solve this mystery.”

“What about Arcee?” Ratchet asked.

“For now we trust in her judgment,” Optimus replied.  “I am certain if she feels she is in any danger, she we’ll extract herself from the situation by any means necessary.”

Ratchet hoped the Prime was right.  Despite everything they have learned about Starscream lately, he still didn’t trust him.

A part of him still feared could be an act.

\--

Wilderness

They had traveled quite far from the mine, but so far the seeker hadn’t said anything since his parting words to Wheeljack.  Though to be fair, that very interaction had Arcee’s own mind spinning, leaving her deep in thought.

She had expected Starscream to be threatening toward Wheeljack. Instead, aside the very start, the seeker had been rather pleasant toward him, even apologized to him.  It reinforced her belief that he was changing, as he had no reason to act nice toward someone that was an enemy. In fact, Starscream acted like he had known Wheeljack from before, perhaps even before the war.

It didn’t pass her notice that the interaction had left the seeker deep in thought.  Leaving him uncharacteristically quiet.  It felt odd.

~Are you alright?~ she finally asked.

He flinched a bit, having caught him off guard apparently.  This amused her a little.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he replied, looking down at her.  “Why?”

~You’ve been quiet since we left the mine,~ she pointed out.  ~That’s not like you.~

“Oh.”  Starscream was chuckling weakly.  “Seeing him again brought up old memories, very old ones.”  He appeared to fall into deep thought again.

Arcee decided not to press, letting him decide if he wanted to elaborate or not.  He certainly seemed to be considering it. It would be several kliks before he spoke again.

“It was from a tumultuous time,” he began.  “When our planet was occupied by another species that called themselves the Quintessons.”

Arcee remembered that: she was only a young bot when those squids descended upon their planet.  With all their promises that turned out to be false. If she remembered right, Starscream showed up just as the war with them started. In a very public manner as well.

Starscream was quiet again. He appeared to be torn, uncertain on what to say.  Finally, resigned.

“I met him after myself, Skywarp and Thundercracker managed to escape from the Quintesson lab I mentioned before...after I had learned a terrible truth.”  His tone was ominous. “One that shook everything I thought I knew and understood about myself. Made me question my own identity and purpose...and a secret I have kept hidden from Cybertronian society as a whole ever since.”

Arcee felt her ears prick forward.  He was getting to something big, very big.  Frustratingly, he was quiet again for a couple more kliks before he continued.

“I informed you before that all Cybertronians come from the Allspark,” he began, his voice low.

Arcee’s ears now were rotating back, her body tensing.  There was only reason why he would lead with that.

He confirmed it with this next sentence.

“I am not.”

She stopped in her tracks.

~That’s not possible….~ She just stared straight ahead, her mouth slightly agape.  ~We’re all from the Allspark….~

Starscream had stopped and faced her, his expression unreadable.  “Can you be so certain?” he asked. “The Quintessons were researching ways to create more sparks without relying on the Allspark.  Mine was the only one they succeeded in creating before the project was stopped...and the only reason it succeeded was because one of them used  _ magic. _ ”

Magic.  The same thing that gave her this form.  That saved her life. She remembered what Kaddrocrom told her.  That to save a life, something of equal or greater worth must be given...like another life.  What the frag was the cost of creating a  _ new _ one!? She shuddered at the possibilities.

“So…,” Starscream spoke, getting her attention again.  “Are we really all from the Allspark?”

_ Oh no. _  Now she realised her slip up.  She had to correct this somehow. ~Not from Allspark, specifically,~ she started to explain, doing her best to keep the panic out of her tone.  ~But everyone and thing is from the All.~

Starscream was frowning, tilting his head and his optics slightly narrowed.  Then his expression went neutral again before turning around and started walking again.  She hesitantly followed. If he hadn’t suspected her before, he certainly did now. And she had just sent a message to Team Prime that he had no idea who she was.

Yet, if he was telling her the truth about his origins….

_ Primus...he would feel like an outsider for all his life.  Never knowing if someone would accept him for who he is. _

She found herself unable to judge him negatively for it.  After all...was she not experiencing the same after her time with Kaddrocrom?

Perhaps that was why he hadn’t killed her yet.  That even the suspicion of having found another ‘freak’ like him stays his hand.

And she knew one bot for certain would consider her a freak….

\--

Starscream was fairly certain now of his suspicions.  That Ves’het was a Cybertronian, but somehow was transformed into this organic form.  She didn’t outright reject him for his ‘status’ either, which was a blessing, though that she didn’t believe him initially likely factored in that.

So what now?  

While he wanted to press the issue and get definite confirmation, he didn’t want to risk losing his friend either.  She was clearly tense and on guard after that and he wouldn’t be surprised if she slipped away when he wasn’t looking.

Yet, surely she knew the risks of sticking around him.  Everyone knew he was an intelligent bot that can think things out, even if luck hasn’t exactly been on his side a lot of the time.  So why take the risk of being figured out? What was she after?

_ Depends on who she is. _  Though, really, that was easy to deduce now that he was certain on the ‘what’.

That she seemed at ease with Wheeljack, when she thought he didn’t see anyway, hinted that she was at least associated with the Autobots.  And there were not that many Autobots on this planet. That she had a feminine mind voice narrowed the possibilities greatly: only one out of every thirteen of their kind had that kind of voice.  

There were only two bots like that on this planet that he knew of.  Airachnid, which he was certain Ves’het was  _ not _ , as that wench would have given herself away even sooner.  Probably demand he help return her to her ‘natural’ state. No, Ves’het seemed to enjoy being like this, for whatever reason.  Not to mention Airachnid didn’t fit the ‘friendly with Autobots’ criteria.

All this left only one known possibility.

Arcee.

Now that he thought about it, her telepathic voice sounded like Arcee.  Her coloration was the same as well, though a bit desaturated. The optics, he now remembered, had the same color pattern.  Yes, this had to be Arcee.

This realization did give him some pause.  Arcee was the Prime’s chief scout and stealth operative.  She had been infamous for infiltrating Decepticon controlled locations on Cybertron, hunting for intel and notoriously difficult to capture.  It was highly likely she was attempting to get intel out of him. That was logical: he was the former Second-in-Command after all, though any access codes he knew would be long invalid by now.  Soundwave would have seen to that. Probably the only intel of use to the Autobots would be the locations of the energon mines he had and where they plan on building the new space bridge. A planned location that may change, now that he thought about it.

~How many know?~

Starscream nearly jumped out of his armor for the second time that day.  He took a deep intake to calm his nerves and to get his spark back into it’s chamber where it belonged.  “What do you mean?” he asked, looking down at her.

~What you just told me about your origins,~ Ves’het replied.

A reasonable enough question, though he wondered what she was aiming for.  “Skywarp and Thundercracker knew,” he explained. “They were with me when I discovered it, but they are both dead as I mentioned before.  Besides them there were only a couple of others I know for certain that knew. Of them, one was killed at the onset of the war with the Quintessons and the other….”  He lowered his head and sighed. “I have no idea what his fate is. He is most likely dead as well….”

Starscream seriously doubted Yarzon’s people would let him live after what he did.

Ves’het was quiet for a moment before she spoke.  ~You told Wheeljack that he ‘figured you out’ before...did he know?~

“I strongly suspect he does,” Starscream confirmed.  “I don’t think he’s told anyone of his suspicions. Why...I have no idea.  Perhaps it would have been too awkward, considering one of the bots used in my creation was a friend and mentor to him.”

~’One’?~  Ves’het echoed, Starscreaming catching a hint of dread in her tone.  

“There were two involved,” Starscream elaborated quietly.  “Both died in the process.”

The dragon looked disturbed.  Her wings were dropping, gaze looking downward.  ~That must be a heavy burden to bear...knowing that two lives were sacrificed to create yours…,~ she was saying softly.  ~The price of causality...can be steep.~

_ It is indeed. _  Starscream was fortunate that Wheeljack seemed understanding of his situation.  If he hadn’t...he may not have lived long enough to see the Quintessons get kicked off the planet.  Wheeljack, he heard, can be very dangerous if torqued off.

“What did you mean by ‘the price of causality’,” he asked, having found that statement odd.

~Law of Causality is the more accurate phrase,~ she explained.  ~It’s...similar to cause and effect: every action has an equal or greater reaction.  In this case, it’s more like: every action taken requires something equal or greater in return to perform it.~

Starscream nodded his head, thinking he understood.  “Like a machine...in order for it to work, it needs the right fuel,” he stated.

She was nodding her head.  ~I believe the cost can vary depending on the skill of the one doing the action.  The one that made you...likely wasn’t very skilled if it the spell consumed two lives.~

That made sense as well.  Any skill generally becomes easier as the user practices.  “Considering the one responsible was banished by his fellow Quintessons for doing something ‘forbidden’, I don’t believe he had a proper teacher.”

There was sense of her starting to say something, a very brief tingle in his processor, but it quickly disappeared.  Starscream mentally chuckled, it being clear to him that she nearly slipped up again. He could guess what she was going to say, something along the lines of ‘wait...they have things they considered ‘forbidden’?  The seeker remembered feeling shocked when he learned that himself.

~Keep in mind this is speculation on my part,~ she admitted. ~Going by what little I was told about it while Kaddrocrom was still alive.~

“So he never taught you magic?”

~He didn’t live long enough to get the chance.~

He frowned ever so slightly.  That tingling sensation wasn’t there for part of that response. Time to test a theory.  “Didn’t live long enough or didn’t wish to teach you?” he asked.

There was a noticeable flinch and she seemed uncertain on how to respond. It took a klik before she finally did.

~Both…,~ she answered quietly.  ~He didn’t wish to teach it to me...because he already knew he would not live long enough to complete my training in it.~

Starscream tilted his head. “Care to elaborate a bit more?”

~Learning magic takes decades to learn...centuries to master,~ she explained.  ~Kaddrocrom...had the gift of foresight...he foresaw his own death.~

Now he knew why she had laughed that one time when he stated no one could see the future.  “I see...a blessing and curse, especially if a terrible outcome cannot be changed,” he sighed.  “A heavy burden.”

~Yes...but one he took seriously.~

Starscream nodded in understanding.  Kaddrocrom sounded like a very intelligent and wise dragon.  A pity he would never get a chance to speak with him...for maybe he would had insight on his creation.  Not that knowing the finer details would ‘fix’ what was done. The lives lost could not be returned, as far as he knew, no matter how much he wished it.

At the very least though, he proved a theory.

When she lied, he felt no tingle when she spoke to him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old enemies...faith restored...trust tested...remorse overwhelming....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer than normal chapter, as I extended a couple of scenes since I originally wrote it.
> 
> ~ Telepathy  
> ] [ Wing language  
> // \\\ Comms

Wilderness

“Hey Phaseshot, a question.”

Phaseshot glanced Jetfire’s way before focusing back in front of himself.  They were currently doing a flight patrol through some canyons, thus it wouldn’t do if he flew right smack into a cliff.  It would have been rather embarrassing.

“What is it?” he queried, though he had a feeling he knew what it was.  The seeker had been fairly quiet and clearly in deep thought ever since his and Ratchet’s last spat.

“What you told us...about the fork in the path and all,” Jetfire started, his tone quiet and slightly hesitant.  “You were referring to us both, weren’t you?”

“That is indeed the case,” he confirmed, a smile on his face.

“But it was also referring to us getting together...wasn’t it?”

This time he chuckled good naturedly.  “It pleases me that you are open minded enough to see the meaning,” he stated.

Jetfire’s alt form seemed to twitch and he was quiet for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“Do I really even have a chance?” he asked, the doubt clear in his tone.  “He’s so fixated on Arcee….”

“The threads of his obsession are slowly starting to break,” Phaseshot told him.  “Though I fear it may take Arcee herself to break it’s hold on him completely.”

“You’re probably right about that…,” Jetfire sighed.  “What do I do in the meantime?”

“Be someone he can rely on in his time of need,” he advised simply.

“Sounds easier said than done.”

“Such things usually are.”

Just then, his comm systems received a signal.   It was just a constant beep, leaving him perplexed.  “Jetfire are you getting this?” he asked.

“I am,” Jetfire acknowledged.  “Jetfire to base. We are receiving an unknown signal.  We are going to check it out.”

//Acknowledged, Jetfire.  Proceed with caution.\\\ Optimus replied.

“Will do.”  As they started to descend toward the source, he asked.  “Getting any ‘feelings’ on this?”

“None yet,” Phaseshot replied honestly.  “Which usually means whatever will happen is meant to be...or would not change the course of events drastically to require intervention.  Could be simply not enough information revealed for one to trigger as well.”

“I’m not sure like the sound of that,” Jetfire muttered as he transformed and landed, Phaseshot landing beside him.

They were now standing in a wide area, the walls of the canyon standing tall on either side.  Before them, the top of the canyon drew in, forming a tall nearly covered cave, which was only just wide and tall enough for one of them to enter at a time. The signal was coming from inside.

Now, Phaseshot was getting a ‘feeling’.  That feeling was telling him he should be the one going in.

“Stand guard,” he told Jetfire as he started forward.  Out of the corner of his optic, he saw Jetfire nod.

Just before the entrance to the cave, he stopped and sniffed, attempting to detect danger.  An action that was a left over instinct from his previous form. He shook his head, slightly embarrassed, when he realized what he attempted to do.

“Are you alright?”  Jetfire asked.

“I’m fine,” he replied.  “Just...old habits die hard.”  He heard the seeker chuckle as he proceeded into the cave.

It was a tight fit, forcing him to shift his wings back into winglets so they wouldn’t be damaged.  He had to travel a fair distance before he spotted the signal source.

The source looked like a spinning top he remembered human children of old playing with, only it was attached to a long pole.  That part was impaled into the ground and a light on top blinked in tune with the beep they were receiving. Phaseshot felt his plates start to bristle, getting a bad feeling.

Then he heard an explosion above and behind him.

He instinctively covered himself, activating his ability as part of the cave collapsed.  What few rocks that fell his way passing through him. When the rocks stopped falling and the dust started to clear, he opened his optics to look behind him.

The exit was now blocked by debris.

Barely heard through it, he heard Jetfire cry out in pain.

With a growl, Phaseshot phased through the debris while running on all fours.  In no time, he reached the cave entrance and he could see Jetfire prone on the ground.  He was surrounded by humans, all wearing the same uniform.

With a roar, he charged out of the cave, forcing the nearest humans to scatter out of surprise.

“What the!? How did that one get out!?” He heard one of them cry as he stopped beside Jetfire, forcing those next to his friend to jump back.  One of them appeared to be about to start cutting into him. Phaseshot spread his wings, making himself an even bigger and more imposing menace.

“Plan B then,” a calm voice commanded.  Phaseshot glanced in that direction to see a human with a heavily scarred face:  the only one that had his face unmasked. There was something about him.…

Phaseshot growled, his plates bristling as an old hate bubbled up to the surface.  Around him the humans were circling them, aiming various weapons at him. One fired a rather large weapon, but Phasehot let it phase right through him.  It landed harmlessly somewhere behind him.

The scarred faced one’s eyes widened slightly.  “You titans impress me more and more,” he said. “That technology you hold will be very useful once we reverse engineer it.”

Phaseshot scoffed.

“So...you have learned nothing from the sins of your ancestors...child of Morgan,” he growled, now understanding what he was feeling.

Now the man’s mouth had dropped open, his eyes now really wide.  With a smirk Phaseshot started chanting a more complex version of the spell he used on Ratchet before.

“Run!” Scarface cried, but it was too late.  With a sharp cry, Phaseshot completed the spell.

Every human in the area was now immobilized, frozen in time in all ways but thought.  

“When will you learn?” Phaseshot admonished, calmly approaching the scarred faced one.  “It was this greed...this lust for power...that nearly destroyed this world before.” He knelt before him, though he still towered over him.  “It was why we punished you so...to save this world. Now history threatens to repeat itself. But of course…” He sighed. “You can’t learn from history...if you destroy it’s records, can you?”

Behind him, he could hear Jetfire start to stir, but he kept his focus on the scarred faced human.

“I could, so easily, leave you like this and let Fowler and his men take you all in while you are frozen and helpless,” he told him bluntly.  “But I will not, for you still have a chance to change your fate...to turn away from this path of self-destruction.”

“Whoa….” He heard Jetfire breathe.

“Take flight, Jetfire,” he told his comrade, standing up.  “I’ll follow shortly.”

“I…OK….”

After Jetfire had transformed and taken to the air, Phaseshot spoke the counter spell, releasing the humans.

“Sir?” one of them asked once they all realized they could move again.  Scarface however, was too stunned to speak or move, despite being able to.

“Hear me, Child of Morgan La Fey,”  Phaseshot cried as he took to the air, though he let himself hover for a bit.  Above he could hear Jetfire circling. “The path to prosperity and peace is not through greed, not through conflict.  But through cooperation and understanding. Something man and dragon once had, before you let greed and lust for power consume you.  Don’t let the world be destroyed due to your selfishness...for there is no power great enough on this world to stop it this time.”

With a few powerful beats of his wings he rose out of the canyon and joined Jetfire, leaving a rather flabbergasted group of humans behind.

“Ugh...Whatever they used on me must have messed with my chronometer...it’s off by a few kliks now,”  Jetfire grumbled as they started flying back toward base.

“Nah, that was due to my spell,” Phaseshot admitted.  “Time is a persistent thing it always has to keep going forward, so when cast my spell, the time that was frozen for the humans was transferred to you to speed your awakening.”

“Whoa...but wait...when you frozen Ratchet before...did that mean….?”

“It was spread among those in the room,” Phaseshot explained.  “Thus it would have only thrown your body clocks off by less than a second.”

Jetfire was quiet a moment.  “Well...I suppose Ratchet will be happy he briefly didn’t age at all at that moment.  Rather not tell him though, may break his processor….”

Phaseshot chuckled good naturedly.

“Was it wise to tell them all that?” Jefire asked after a moment, concern in his tone.

“There is a reason I do the things I do,” Phaseshot told him.  “They have a role to play in events to come. Getting them put in prison will hinder such events.”

“Fowler still won’t be happy such an opportunity was wasted.”

“Then we don’t tell him,”  Phaseshot countered with a smirk.  “What he doesn’t know, won’t raise his blood pressure.”

Jetfire laughed at that.

\--

R'aagun

Skywarp studied maps and notes Yarzon had taken over the last few earth orns.  It was tedious and boring work, the kind of thing he usually let others do instead, but he had no one else to do it.  At least, no one he wanted to get a clue on what he was up to.

The only other activity on the ship right now were the various maintenance drones.  Yarzon had turned in a couple breems ago. Skywarp was normally recharging himself at this time, but he had taken a long nap today.  It was in part due to wanting to act when Yarzon wasn’t watching and needing to give his processor a break from all the thinking he did.  Seriously, how did other bots deal with thinking hard like that for any length of time?

Thankfully, Yarzon didn’t bother him at all today.  The Quintesson may be annoying and stubborn a lot of the time, but he at least he knew when to give him space.  And Skywarp used that ‘not being pestered’ time to its fullest to due the one thing he usually never did.

Think things through.

Yarzon couldn’t know what he was about to do.  Not until he was long gone anyway. Skywarp had to be as ready as possible first though.  He noted down the locations of all the energon mines and Cybertronian sightings, both human government recorded and by their own surveillance drones.  A pity that surveillance drone thirteen always glitched out, as there was significant gap in information for that region.

Perhaps though, there was a reason for it?  The town Jasper was close to that ‘dead zone’ and there were a few government recorded Cybertronian sightings there.  Yarzon had made a note that the Autobot base may be close to that location. It was as good of a place to start as any.

Skywarp walked over to the ship navigation console and checked the current heading.  He was lucky once more: the ship was heading in the ‘general’ direction of where he wanted to go.  All he had to do was direct it to make a slight detour.

After making the adjustments, he set about gathering supplies while he waited for the ship to travel to the location.  First stop was his room to clear out his subspace; he really needed to learn to stop hoarding junk in there. Once that was done, he went to what acted as the mess hall on the ship, and prepared and packed enough medical grade for an earth joor into his subspace, plus a couple extra...just in case.  Skywarp then ‘borrowed’ a scanner and portable energon refiner, stuffing them into his subspace as well. Just in case this little stunt torqued the Quint off enough to ban him from the ship for a while. He doubted it, but you never know!

Skywarp just needed one more thing and he headed to the ships small hanger bay to get it.

Once in a while, Yarzon couldn’t risk descending the ship far enough for him to just teleport to the ground.  For those instances, Skywarp used a booster pack. These devices had just enough thrust to slow his descent for a safe landing.  Sure, he could simply transform and use his jet engine for the task, but he didn’t like bumping his head on the ground when he transformed back.  Embarrassing.

After ensuring the one he selected was full of fuel, he headed back to the bridge.

“What are you up to, Skywarp?”

If he still had a vocalizer, his scream probably would have been heard on the planet surface.  He was fairly certain he almost made a dent in the ceiling from how high he jumped. Once he had his spark back in its chamber, he slowly turned to face the speaker.

Yarzon was  _ right there _ , just off to the side of the entrance of the bridge.  The Quintesson had his tentacles folded across his chest, body tilted slightly to one side in their rough equivalent of a ‘questioning’ posture.  He didn’t look angry.

Yet.

]Yarzon...what are you doing up?[ Skywarp asked, trying to keep his spark from spinning so much.

“Did you forget I am a light sleeper?” Yarzon replied.  “And that my quarters are right next to yours?”

_ Scrap, scrap, scrap. _  He had forgotten about that.  This is why he usually didn’t bother thinking things through and just did it!  He always forgot about something that would screw it up anyway!

“So…,” Yarzon prompted when he hadn’t responded, the Quintesson’s optics scanning him briefly before locking onto the booster pack on his back..  “Planning on leaving the ship without telling me?”

Caught.  So caught.  With a defeated sigh, he nodded his head.

Now the Quintesson looked disappointed, one tentacle rising to rub his face for a moment.  “Why? Have you lost all faith in me?”

Skywarp fidgeted for a moment before answering.  ]I’m tired of waiting...standing on the sidelines  _ hoping _ to see or hear anything about Starscream,[ he signed.  ]At the rate things are going, we’ll both be rust by the time something comes up.[

Yarzon was already sighing.  “It’s only been a little over an Earth Joor since we last heard anything on him: you are being inpatient.”

]Perhaps I am,[ he admitted. ]But we’ve been here Earth  _ orns _ before we got that one bit.  It took  _ vorns _ to even  _ find _ the  _ Nemesis _ before that![  He paused a moment to collect himself and to calm down.  ]I’ll only be gone an Earth Joor...I’ll be searching in the dead zone, looking for a friendly Autobot....or Starscream.[

“Warp, I already told you….”

]I know![  He slammed his fist against the wall to punctuate his frustration, making Yarzon jump a little.  ]But chances are, Starscream is in that dead zone and we won’t know  _ anything _ unless someone goes down there ourselves.  Best one for that is me.[ His ‘wings’ drooped a moment in despair before he was able to bring them back up again to keep ‘talking’.  ]This. This is not just about learning what is going on with him anymore, Yarzon. I need to do this...to prove to myself I am...useful for something other than stealing.[

His ‘wings’ dropped a bit.  ]If I fail...I...I promise to stay on the ship unless you need me to go on a supply run for now on.[

Skywarp lowered his head and looked away, his ‘wings’ fully down. He had said his piece, now all he could do was wait for the inevitable refusal. It was several painful kliks before the Quintesson said anything.

“Very well.”

There it was.  He knew it. Damn squid, he should just teleport any-

Wait.

Skywarp looked at him, blinking his optic a few times.  Did he really just say that?

Yarzon had moved.  He was by the navigation map, looking at it.  

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately on our progress…,” the Quintesson stated softly.  “I’m come to realize you’re right. Things have stagnated and the Autobots may have information we need on Starscream.  But….” He sighed. “I am wary about revealing ourselves. You know what will happen if we do.”

Skywarp nodded with acknowledgment: both sides would attempt to recruit them for their cause.  Optimus would likely understand their reluctance, but Megatron? He would pull a ‘if I can’t have you, no one will’ move.  

And they can’t help Starscream if they were dead.

“If you do this, you realize I may not be able to help you if things go sour.”

Skywarp nodded once more.

“And you packed supplies?”

He nodded.  ]Even a scanner and a portable refinery,[ he stated proudly.

“What about a tent for shelter?”

Skywarp blinked.  ]Uh…do we even have one of those?[  He honestly didn’t think of that.

“Only the one I used before I found the wreckage of this ship.”

]Oh...no point in taking it.  I need something that will cover more than my aft.[  He gave him a smirk.

Yarzon rolled his optics.

The Quintesson further ‘quizzed’ him on well he planned this and was suitably satisfied. Unfortunately, the ship had passed the location he was aiming for by the time he had finished; Yarzon had to direct it to circle back.  Afterward, the Quintesson decided to return to bed and wished him luck, telling him he’ll try to keep the ship close by just in case.

When he had left, it finally really hit him that Yarzon  _ agreed _ with his plan.  How did he manage that?

Who cares!  He was just glad they were on the same page again.  It was a good feeling.

A few kliks later, the ship was over the desired location once more.  Skywarp took a deep intake to calm his nerves, did his calculations and teleported….

\--

Wilderness

Acree couldn’t sleep.

She yawned and stretched on the dusty floor of the small ravine they camped in for the night. Acree had put herself against one side, while Starscream was still in recharge on the other side.  Slagger was sleeping peacefully, from what she could tell. Glancing at the sky, she saw it was still night. How annoying.

Acree knew why she was having trouble.  It was mainly due to worries that she had been figured out.  That the moment she fell asleep Starscream would end her. Yet, so far he had done nothing to even  _ suggest _ he was thinking of harming her.

Then again, he did reveal a rather big damming secret about himself.  Perhaps he had the same fears regarding her? Not that she could  _ do _ much to him in this state, save perhaps frying his circuits. She wasn’t even sure how much damage her lightening could do to him at full power:  he much bigger than Lazerbeak, after all. That was probably why he was able to fall into recharge anyway.

She huffed a sigh, a bit of loose dirt flying away from her maw.  Everything she thought she knew about this seeker had been upended since this ‘partnership’ had started.  That he wasn’t from the AllSpark being the biggest processor blowing one. It seemed almost too crazy to be true.

Perhaps he made it up to cause her to slip up, to reveal her true nature?  That did seem plausible. Yet, it gnawed at her, like it was something important.  A clue she had needed to know.

Didn’t he tell Wheeljack that he had figured him out before?  He also mentioned a few others knew, but they were all dead. How convenient.  Yet, tragic. It meant he didn’t have really anyone he could talk to about this.  A burden he had to bare alone.

Like her.

While that incident with Fowler’s men told her that her old team now apparently  _ believed _ her, the question that stuck in her mind was what they would do once she went back.  There was no question in her processor Ratchet would try to ‘fix’ her and of the others, only the kids and Optimus she was certain would protest it.  Not to mention, the thought of Ratchet still made her blood start to boil. Yet, she knew eventually she would have to go back. That, she knew, was inevitable.

A soft whimper drew her attention.  Seemed Starscream’s peaceful sleep was no longer that.  The seeker was twitching, his face contorted into one of fear. Then agony.  Shortly after he cried out in a loud shriek that made her ears ring, his limbs flailing, like he was trying to escape.

~Starscream,~ she sent to him, trying to wake him from this obvious nightmare.  He didn’t seem to hear her, as he keep crying out, those dangerous claws raking and scratching at thin air. She wisely kept her distance as she tried again.  ~ _ Starscream!~ _

His optics snapped open, those claws now planted against the wall of the ravine as he looked around, a panicked expression on his face.  She waited patiently for him to get his bearings, to calm down before doing anything more.

“Master?  Where are you?” he called out softly, his tone fearful.

Arcee frowned.  Who was he referring to?  ~Starscream, it’s alright,~ she sent to him, trying to reassuring.

Those red optics widened in surprise and he grasped his head.  He seemed very confused. “Who’s this voice in my head!?” he whimpered.  “How did she know my real name!?”

_ Real name?  What the frag? _  Was he trapped in a flashback?  She had to snap him out of it before he completely freaked out.  ~It’s telepathy, my species uses it to communicate. Do you remember?~ she asked, making a soft chittering noise to get him to look at her.

He did look at her and he stared at her a long time.  Different emotions flickered over his face as he seemed to be working things out.

“Arcee?” he then asked.

It felt like her whole world just stopped.  Arcee felt her body stiffen as terror filled her.  He  _ did _ figure her out!  Yet he wasn’t looking at her with malice, just a bit of confusion and curiosity.  She wasn’t about to confirm it to him though, not yet.

~You’re alright,~ she managed calmly.  ~You’re in a safe place.~

Starscream seemed relieved as he leaned back against the ravine wall, rubbing his face.  “Scrap…,” he was groaning. “It’s been a very long time since I had one of those….”

~The nightmare?~

“It was more than a nightmare…,” he sighed.  “It was a memory…from back when the Quintessons were in control of the planet.”  The seeker leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “Because I didn’t come from the Well…I wasn’t counted in the census…I didn’t  _ exist _ according to Cybertronian society.   So the Quintessons could do anything they wanted to me and no one would know.  I…suffered for vorns before I was finally able to escape. Yet…those memories still haunt me.”

Primus…he had been through the Pit.  How the frag did he keep his sanity through all that?  ~Did you seek help? Therapy?~ she asked.

There was a sad laugh.  “Someone like me? Couldn’t risk it.  Society as a whole wouldn’t have understood and considering the war we had just fought; do you really think they would accepted an artificial freak like me?  One that was created by the very enemy we just drove off?”

He had a point.  The tension and hate back then would have made it very difficult for someone like him to live a peaceful life.  Something else dawned on her: he was talking to her as if she had experienced the occupation and the war herself.  Like he had no question in his processor on who she was.

And he didn’t care she was technically an enemy.

It was a relief, yet she felt she couldn’t completely drop her guard just yet.  ~So you only had…who was it…Skywarp and Thundercracker as support?~

He was nodding.  “When that war ended, I asked them both to keep my origins a secret.  They didn’t like it, but they agreed. You are the first I have ever told since then.”

~Why tell me, then?~  She tilted her head questioningly.

“Because I believe you know how I feel in way…am I right, Arcee?”  He had this knowing look in his face.

He had called her by her real name again and she couldn’t help but flinch.  ~Why do you keep calling me that?~

“That’s your real name, is it not?” he asked, tilting his head.  “You have her voice…her optics…and color scheme. If it wasn’t for your organic form, you could be no one else.”

~And if I am…want do you intend to do?~ she asked, her tone guarded, body still tense.

There was a long sigh.  “I do not intend to harm you, if that is your fear,” he stated calmly.  “I have no reason to. Though…admittedly if I had figured you out when we first meet…things might have been different.”

That was indeed true.  He was rather different then.  The change she witnessed in him since then was rather remarkable.

~So…what now?~

“Now…I think I’ll try to get more recharge,” Starscream sighed with a chuckle as he laid down.  “I’m sorry if I woke you before.”

~You didn’t…couldn’t sleep.~

“Oh.”  There was a pause.  “If you are gone when I awaken…I don’t blame you. I’ve…done a lot of terrible things…things I would take back if I could.  I would rather not be alone though…I…don’t really have anyone anymore….”

A few nanos later it was clear Starscream was in recharge once more and Arcee found herself with a dilemma.

She was clearly compromised, yet…not in danger?  He was giving her the chance to leave if she wanted.  But was it really a choice? Despite all that she had learned, she felt there was still more to discover.  Things she had to know, if not only to satisfy her own curiosity but to help him as well.

The answer to a big question felt like it was dangling right in front of her face, yet unseen.  The pieces she had were not quite fitting together just yet. It was annoying.

With a quiet sigh, she rose to her feet and moved closer to him before laying down again.  For a moment, she just studied him: the seeker was half curled into a ball, his expression peaceful and serene.  At least for now.

Gently she rested her head on his arm and closed her eyes.

_ Who are you, Starscream? _

\--

Autobot Base

Wheeljack sat on the plateau on top of the base, looking out in the distance. His processor was flooded with memories, some good, some bad, all very old.

_ “We are all from the same source, Jackie,”  _ Ebonscream had said once.   _ “All from the AllSpark.  When we take a life, I can’t help feel we are killin’ a part of ourselves in the process.   That we lose a part of ourselves. That is why I try ta avoid it, unless I have no other choice.” _

How many has he killed in his long life?  Especially during this current war? Ebonscream always had a sense of remorse, regret, when he did kill.  Wheeljack, on the other hand, couldn’t remember the last time he felt that way. That couldn’t be a good thing.  Right?

He also couldn’t remember the last time he felt genuinely happy.

All the losses he had suffered.  Friends...family...being taken from him, one by one.  Was this his punishment?

“I had a feeling you’d be up here.”

Wheeljack looked back to see Bulkhead approaching him.

“Hey, Bulk,” Wheeljack greeted softly.  “How’d ya know?”

“Everytime you are reminded of him you get like this,” Bulkhead replied as he sat next to him.  He didn’t miss the look of concern on his face.

“And each time I am...it feels heavier and heavier,” Wheeljack admitted.  “It’s...almost like he’s punishin’ me….”

“I don’t believe he would do that, Jackie.”  Bulkhead was shaking his head. “You know how big he was on making your own choices and such.”

“Yeah, but he also big on the consequences of said choices,” Wheeljack reminded him as he looked up at the stars.  “Like...the consequences of what I started….”

Bulkhead made of dismissive sound.  “You mean our business with the Sirens?  Come on, Jackie. They were no good and too stuck in their ways to see it for themselves.  Especially after they sided with the squids.” His friend leaned in close. “They got what was coming to them.”

“But did all of them deserve it?” Wheeljack asked, keeping his gaze on the sky.  “When Ebony was with us, we usually avoided kilin’ ‘em straight off...gave them a chance to give up...to change.  After he was taken from us...we stopped doin’ that. We hunted them down like beasts, until we made them extinct. Was that really the right thin’ to do?”

Bulkhead was quiet.  When he looked at him, he saw that his friend had a mild look of shock on his face.  Then it changed into understanding.

“Ah, I get it,” he said softly.  “You’re worried we killed more like Silky.”

Wheeljack flinched at that name.  Memories flooded into processor. Of a silky voice and soft touch.  And a burning, passionate kiss.

“D-don’t mention them...please!” Wheeljack pleaded, his optics crushed closed as he tried to shove the memories away.  All this time...it still hurt so much. It wasn’t something he wanted to talk about right now...if ever again!

Bulkhead was sighing with a mix of annoyance and concern.  “It’s been literally  _ ages _ , Jackie,” he told him.  “You need to let go...of them and Ebony.”

“You think I haven’t tried?” Wheeljack cried, his voice cracking.  “I thought I did let them go, but it still hurts! And Ebony...after what I did….”

“What are you talking about?” Bulkhead asked, sounding confused.  “You had an argument...it happens! You didn’t know he’d get caught while he was away cooling off.”

He didn’t understand...he didn’t  _ know _ .  It wasn’t just a simple argument.  What he had said that day….

“It’s my fault he’s dead....,” Wheeljack sobbed, getting to his feet.  “My fault a lot of bots are dead….”

“Jackie….”  He felt him put a hand on his shoulder as he got up himself.  “It’s not your fault. Stop letting guilt you don’t deserve weigh you down.”

“What do you know?  Huh!?” Wheeljack snapped, brushing his hand off and facing him.  “You weren’t there that day! You didn’t hear the things I said! I deserve to feel this!  But now….” He turned away. “It’s affectin’ others too...my sins are killin’ others. I tried to save them...tried to prevent it...but I couldn’t...now we may be the only ones left….”

“What are you talking about, Jackie?  You’re scaring me.”

He wanted to explain, he really did, but the words failed to from his vocalizer.  So instead, Wheeljack turned and started walking toward the cave where he parked he Jackhammer.  “Stay with Team Prime, Bulk,” he sorrowfully. “They may be able to protect you better than me….”

“Jackie! Wait!”

“Please...I need to be on my own for while,”  Wheeljack stated softly, not looking back at him.  “I’ll comm if I need anythin’....”

\--

Ratchet watched with an annoyed frown.  Phaseshot was getting on his nerves. Well, to be fair, he was on his nerves since he arrived.  Seriously though, this defied logic!

As standard, the former dragon was given a proper room in the base to recharge in.  However, apparently that wasn’t good enough for Mister High-and-Mighty! After only four Earth Cycles, he apparently decided to relocate to someplace more  _ suitable _ for him.

To the top of the pillar in the Command Center. He was there now, preparing it for its new ‘resident’.

He supposed the bot’s previous form still had some influence on his preferences.

“Hey guys.”

Ratchet, along with a few others turned to look at Bulkhead, whom had just returned.  He looked down, if not a bit disturbed. “What is wrong, Bulkhead?” Optimus asked.

The former Wrecker sighed, then recounted a rather disturbing conversation he just had with Wheeljack.  Ratchet’s optics widened: he had no idea Wheeljack’s mental state was  _ that _ bad.  

“Then he left in the  _ Jackhammer, _ ”  Bulkhead finished. “He’s done this before, many times.  However, I do admit this is the worst one I’ve seen.”

“And you just let him  _ leave!? _ ” Ratchet asked hotly.  “He’s at a high risk of committing  _ suicide! _ ”

“I know,” Bulkhead was sighing.  “However, I know how he is when he’s like this.  He won’t answer his comms and looking for him will only make him close up even more.”

Well that wasn’t exactly  _ comforting. _

“Is there anything we can do for him?” Optimus asked.

“Give him space and time,’ Bulkhead replied with a helpless shrug.  “He always came back before.”

“But someday he won’t…,” Ratchet muttered.

“He’ll be fine.” Phaseshot’s voice came from above.  They looked up to see the bot perched on one of the support beams half way up the pillar.  “I feel...he will soon meet the one he needs.”

_ When the white meets the black… _  Ratchet looked at the pole Wheeljack brought back not long ago.  It was completely grey now, the color nanites all dead, but he still remembered the color it once had and who it belonged to.

The bot that was likely Skywarp.

A thud close by made him jump.  He turned to see Phaseshot had joined them on the ground.

“Things are in motion….,” Phaseshot was saying.  “That will soon change everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized at the last moment that Morgan la Fay may not have been the best 'mythological magic user' to use as a reference: she was literally the first one to pop up in my head when I wrote that scene, as I only knew her as the very ambitious, evil sorceress from Arthurian legend. Turned out after some quick reading that wasn't necessarily the case. Oops. Thus I may change it if I find a better suited one.
> 
> That said, I, unfortunately, don't have another 'major' story in this continuity ready to take this 'posting slot'. I'm admittedly very far behind on writing them (both for the 'A Single Thread' series and this one), due to life, plot issues and other distractions. While I am wrangling those into submission, I'll be posting what is left of 'Siege' and other smaller stories in this 'time slot'.
> 
> I very much want to complete what I started (as monstrous as it has become), so all I ask is for patience! (and a whip to keep my muses in order!)
> 
> FYI, the next in this particular series is tentatively titled 'Turning Point'.


End file.
